A Gift and Secret

Cheryl and I had a special date the other night and for the occasion, I got her a gift. Yes, the dog-bone was the gift. No, Cheryl has not been craving rawhide or had any trouble lately chewing on my shoes (not lately anyway...hehe). Actually the bone was a sign of more than my total ineptitude at gift-giving! Cheryl knew immediately that it as my way of saying I'm ready to get a dog! Cheryl was absolutely giddy when she saw the bone. She jumped up and down and squealed like a little girl!

We've talked about getting a dog before but have never acted on it. Between babies and space issues there have been certain reasons not to get a dog. Then, there is my own personal feelings about owning a dog in the suburbs: In a nutshell - man was not made to walk behind dogs picking up their poo! All that being said, I've given in to the real need that a certain little boy and little girl have for a puppy.

Now, you are all, hereby, swore to secrecy! The Kids won't know about this until Christmas! Many pictures will be taken and we'll have some good video, too! So until then .... Shhhhhh!!!

My New Car

...probably won't be one of these! Yeah, the Mustang in the picture is kinda pretty, but it is not mine. So, what is the story here? A few weeks ago, we brought in a trainer from a software vendor that we use and he had this as a rental for the week. He didn't want to bother with learning the roads, so he handed me the keys! Weeee!

Yes, it was fun. On the other hand, though, I don't think I want one. This was the LX model with an automatic transmission, so the driving experience was less than exhilarating. But, hey, there is something cool about driving one. Now I can say I've done that.

I Said 'Pouty', not 'Dumbfounded'

Let me try to make a long story a bit shorter...I was evaluating a piece of software for a project and found a list of websites that use the software. The list included a women's fashion site based in the UK.

So, I bring up their site and before I can begin my technical evaluation, I'm struck by the expression of the cover model...
I mean, we're all used to the type of expressions and such that 'high fashion' models find, but this one was just a bit off. She seems to have been caught off-guard, but not in that "I'm cool, spontaneous and candid" way. It's more of a "That guy with the clicky, confuses me" kind of look. I was mildly amused until I realized that this is her ONLY LOOK! I poked around the sight and found several other pics and sure enough, the look is stuck.

Here are 2 more shots as proof:Comments Contest: give these shots a caption! The title of this entry is my suggestion.

Cheers!

Isaac and I enjoyed the first eggnog of the season this weekend. I was in HEB for some quick groceries and, what do you know?! The eggnog was in stock. Not that canned stuff, either. The good stuff. I jumped back in the van with my find and waited for the right moment to reveal it. That time was, of course, almost immediately.

Cheryl was just as excited as I thought she'd be - not at all. But, while she was busy rolling her eyes, Isaac and I made plans to have a glass together right after dinner! I'm proud to report that he likes it! Cheers, Isaac!

Ramping Down

Have you ever heard the phrase "ramping up"? Sure - we use it to say we're gathering resources and momentum towards the end of some big effort. I feel like I've been ramping up for so long now that I've forgotten what I was ramping up for. I have come to a recent point where I'm realized that I am working too hard. That was the easy part. The hard part, though, is figuring out how to stop it! I need to start ramping down. As I struggle with the concept here a couple of things jump out as the bigger hurdles.

One, the felt need for the extra income from the side jobs. Part of what log-jams my time at home are the side jobs I've taken on. They have kicked in some cash from time to time but not a lot. The opportunity cost of them seems like it has been pretty high, too. It takes a long time to do a job and that time come from family time. There are just so many hours in the day.

Two, I've forgotten how to relax. I'm serious about this. When I'm thrust into a non-working time by a holiday vacation or an outing with friends, I can figure it out pretty well - I really do enjoy those times with family and friends. But what I've forgotten how to do is the "management" of those times. Planning vacations, looking for opportunities and pursuing family-level hobbies like taking our bikes to the park, camping and river trips are things that have fallen by the wayside to me. The void is obvious, but when it crosses my mind, I often find it burdensome rather than refreshing; it feels like one more job asking to be added to my already crushing load.

I'm out of balance. I'm admitting that here. Changes need to be made. But, I know that I can't do it all at once. It took a long time to ramp up to this level of intensity. Getting back to normal is going to take some ramping down.

Round and Round They Go

Do you remember spinning as a child? Ya know - the time that you figured out that it made you feel dizzy and that was fun! Well it is almost as much fun as a spectators sport! Isaac and Julia got going in the kitchen the other night and it was a hoot! The was a decidely higher risk of head injury than the kitchen normally presents, but if we keep them near the center of the room, this can be fun for the whole family! ... until they puke.