Wednesday, March 30, 2011

BABY!!!!

I have been bursting at the seams for too long!  WE ARE HAVING A BABY!
This is the reason I have not been able to post in a while.  I have been afraid I would blab accidentally in my writing.  Tory and I are very excited! We openly admit to having no clue what we are in for, but that has yet to diminish our excitement.
Tory is just almost 13 weeks along and is just over the first trimester and has been steadily gaining energy back! Tory was fortunately never really sick and to my knowledge never even got close to throwing up! She has been a trooper so far and has made me proud; she will be great mom!
The great thing about having your first baby is everything is new and exciting. The bad part is, not knowing what is coming. As a result, you feel like you are constantly behind the eight ball. We don’t have anything picked out; we don’t even know what to buy!  We just found out yesterday we should be on waiting list for daycare! I begin asking people around the office about daycares and the entire process and one gentleman told me he would send us the spreadsheet his wife put together. I was intrigued. A spreadsheet? About daycares? Well when I opened it, I was amazed at what this woman had put together!  There were over 35 daycares listed with information all the way out to column “T”.  There were miles from home, miles from work, avg price, owner name, years established, what bottles they had approved, and the list went on and on! We have not even had a child yet and I already feel like a bad parent after looking at this sheet! The good news is we have wonderful family and friends who can help us through the process!
We will go back to the Dr. in about 7 weeks for an ultrasound where we found out if it is a boy or a girl! We are planning on finding out!  We are way too big of planners to let this opportunity go by.  We openly refer to the baby as a “he” and are probably both secretly hoping for a boy, but will be excited about either!
Oct 6th is the due date! Until then we would covet all prayers for our baby and Tory.

MUCH MORE TO COME IN THE WEEKS AHEAD!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

I felt like an Idiot!

There is nothing I enjoy more than telling a story about a funny or embarrassing situation that I got into.  Fortunate for me, this happens frequently.  Two weeks ago I was asked by my boss to attend a seminar in Chicago on C-stores.  This is a big initiative for the company and I was excited to go.  Shortly after the request my boss sent me all the information I would need to register for the event.  I eagerly hopped on line registered and called the travel agency to book my flights. Pretty simple stuff, right?
Friday morning came early and I drove the Little Rock National airport to catch my 7:15 am flight.  As I sat in the airport eating my Little Rock Sunrise (bacon, egg, and cheese bagel) I was feeling rather smug about myself and excited about the day of travel that laid ahead.  I took the 90 minute flight and landed in Chicago at 9:00 am.  The meeting started at 11:00, so I decided to catch a cab and head down town to walk around and explore while I waited.  The meeting was held at the Willis Tower (old Sears Tower) and this added to my excitement about the trip. In fact, I took a picture with my phone and sent it to a number of family and co-workers.
In order to go to a meeting in the Willis Tower you have to have your name registered with their security and you need a ticket to go up the elevator. Upon arrival, I went as the instructions indicated to the front desk and told them my name and the purpose of my visit.  The lady politely checked her system and found my name and function to be missing from her list.  I thought this was odd, but easily overlooked it.  She proceeded to call 3-4 people asking questions about the event I was to attend.  No one had a clue.  She granted me passage to the 66th floor where I could further discuss my issue with the Metropolitan Club (the location of the meeting). I went through security and up the elevator to the 66th floor. I found the Metropolitan desk and began pleading my case and purpose with the young receptionist.  I pulled out a reservation sheet I had for the course to prove my belonging and rightful passage.  Upon review she could only utter one phrase “Sir, this meeting is next Friday.”
In an instant, my stomach went into my throat and I turned razorback red.  Did I really just travel via plane to Chicago, taxi to down town, elevator ride to the 66th floor for a meeting that was not going to happen for 7 more days?!?  Well…that is exactly what I did! I felt like and idiot!
How does an adult with a college degree, reasonable intelligence, and is marginally responsible make a mistake like that? I have no idea.  Fortunately, I have a wonderful boss; who once he stopped laughing assured me that I could come back to work on Monday! The only thing worse than calling your boss after a mistake like that is calling your wife.  She graciously told me that I indeed was an idiot and that I would never be allowed to book a family vacation.
So what happened next? I got a cab back to the airport, caught the next flight back to Little Rock and was home by 3:30.

This was the image I sent to everyone about 20 minutes before I discovered my mistake.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Come on Spring

We have been slowly starting to enjoy the warmer weather and it is getting me excited about spring and summer.  I love those days when you can wear shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt. Apart from allergies, I love seeing things green up and start to bud in an array of colors.  Bring it on!  Longer days also come with Spring and Summer!  You can actually do something outside when you get home from work!  One of the biggest reasons I can tell Spring is getting close is because my yard is starting to green up. Meaning, weeds are starting to grow.

Last week when I was on google earth I noticed they had updated the picture of our house to one from over the summer.  If you look at our neighbors yards they are plush, green, healthy and full of life. Ours, was dead except for the small section of green weeds by the mailbox! I am afraid I am going to have to bite the bullet and pay for some professional help.  I tried to manage it on my own last year and lost.  I do not have a green thumb.

Since our last post we have been relatively dull people.  Most nights are spent between cleaning, laundry, cooking and other house projects. We have finally become a boring married couple.  It really isn't all that bad!

Hams are continuing to come along.  I hung them to dry last weekend and they will remain there till June when we smoke them.  Arkansas has also released a new law that will enable "further processed" goods to be sold at the local farmers markets, like jams, jellies, baked goods, etc...  Also falling into that category is cured meats!  I have also checked out with my USDA buddies the requirements that I would need to meet to be a participant in the local market.  It appears, given the size of my operation and the potential income to make off my hams that I would qualify for a retail exempt classification and would not have to be inspected! Meaning I could sell at will if my sales stay under 46k/year!  No problem! I will start the application process with the Arkansas Farmer's Market Association soon and then go from there.  This makes me really excited!

Two weeks ago I managed to gather John Schellehase, Matt Henderson, and Grant Rollins for a mini reunion! John has been out of the country for two years with the peace corp and has finally returned.  The four of us exchanged stories and memories that only we could appreciate.  It has been a while since I laughed that hard. There are few men who are blessed to have friends like I do.  I am grateful for their friendship and look forward to sharing life with them.

Mark