Time Well Spent

Sometimes, you have to MAKE time. That is what I did the last time my boss asked for all of our “time off requests.” I chose one day a month and took it off to be sure that my wife and I get some “us” time. Last Friday, was the first of those days.

By the end of Wednesday night, I was ready to have that day off! Wednesday was a real mess. Everybody had really difficult patients. It was like someone deliberately put all of them on the same night to create the “Perfect Crapstorm!” I could hear Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy in 30 Rock’s fantastic line, “What is your contingency plan for a crapstorm of this magnitude?” running through my head all night.

Thursday, I came home and was able to get some sleep. I was up at my normal time, and about to get ready for work when I received a text message that there were patients who cancelled and it was my turn to stay home. I cannot even begin to tell you how overjoyed I was to have a bonus night off!

I told my wife that after dinner, we were going to get ice cream! It certainly was not on my diet, but all that mattered was that I was going to have the night with the family. We all packed into the car and went to a local ice cream place about 8 miles from us. I tried to get a family picture while we were there, but neither of the kids knew we were taking the picture …

It was a perfect night. It wasn’t too hot, but there was plenty of sunshine. One of the best moments of the evening was watching Ella willingly share her ice cream with Andrew. It was so sweet to watch.

Then came Friday. Knowing that we were planning on having dinner out somewhere, Sam and I began to discuss where to go to eat. Why is trying to decide where to eat such a chore for couples? It’s crazy. Sam said she’d be happy going to Applebee’s, which I really didn’t want to do. So we looked at the internet and our “lists.” We have a list of places that we would love to try and a list of places that we like. We decided to stay close to home and go to one of our favorite Mexican places.

Prior to us dating, we used to go to this place with one of our teachers. The food is excellent. Once we began dating, we’d go there often. Now, there is one close to our house and we eat there frequently. We dropped the kids off at Sam’s sister’s house and we went to the restaurant that was close to the college.

They brought us their homemade chips and salsa, which is something I should have avoided because of how many points the chips are on Weight Watchers, but I didn’t. Instead, I made the healthy choice of avoiding the chimichangas I usually order, and opted for the chicken fajita, which is basically all free. I ate loads of veggies and chicken. I avoided the tortilla shells and the sour cream. It was delicious.

I also did something I hadn’t done in some time – I had a beer. I made sure to get a light beer and I counted the points for it. While I enjoyed it, I realized that I really have not missed it. There was a time where I was drinking beer almost every night. It was emotionally driven and brought on by stress. Today, I don’t feel the need to drink at all. I’m happy with my coffee or water.

After dinner, Sam and I drove to Target and walked through the store. We were looking for a couple things, but mostly just browsing. We got a few ideas for the kids for Christmas and enjoyed just walking – with no real hurry to get stuff done. It was wonderful.

The time together was much needed. It was a perfect evening. Driving home to get the kids, we talked, held hands and just enjoyed “us.” I am already looking forward to next month’s date day!!

A Perfect Weekend to Celebrate

Saturday I got to spend some time with my wife and celebrate her birthday. I arranged for Nana and Papa to watch the kids so we could have some time together. I am so grateful for them.

I worked Friday night, and when I came home, I went right to bed, so I could catch a few winks before our date day. The time I was asleep was rough for Sam as the kids were a bit crankier than normal. We almost called the whole day off.

Thankfully, all fell into place. We dropped the kids off and went to our favorite steakhouse for lunch. The weather was absolutely perfect, so we asked to eat on the patio. When the greeter walked us out there, I was surprised to see no one else there. We had the whole patio to ourselves for most of the meal!

What a wonderful afternoon! We sat in the sun enjoying conversation and each other. It was so nice to just be together.

Because we got a later start than we had planned (and because showtimes didn’t really line up with our plans), we decided to skip the movies. There were a few things we wanted to do, so we just spent the rest of the time doing them.

We had recently bought a two camera baby monitor from Target. It was a nice one and expensive. We set up the cameras and for whatever reason, one of the two cameras would have trouble connecting. We could see one, then it would go out and we could see the other. It never seemed to be able to show both cameras at the same time. This bothered us because we were on wifi, and no matter where we were, it should connect. There was an app you could download on your phone and you were supposed to be able to check from anywhere. I never really did get that to work. We decided it was best to take it back.

So we walked through Target just looking around and talking. We ended up buying a few things for the kids while we were there. Then we wanted to walk through the Christmas Tree Store. They always have a lot of holiday type stuff. The Red, White and Blue wreath we put on the door for Memorial Day and the 4th of July was looking pretty ragged and faded. We hoped to find something there for the door. We did.

It was getting close to the time we told Sam’s folks we’d be back for the kids, so we jumped back in the car and drove to get them. I held Sam’s hand on the way there and was just so glad to have had a day with her.

When we got the kids loaded up, we started to head home. It was getting close to Andrew’s bedtime. He started to cry a lot in the backseat. Sam crawled over the center console and squeezed between the two car seats and made him a bottle to drink on the way home. She had to be extremely uncomfortable! Once we were home, she had to climb back over the center console to get back in her seat to exit the car. I joked with her that I should have taken video to get her back for posting a video of me trying to hop the fence in our backyard! It was a humorous way to end the night.

Sunday night, Sam had to work. I took the kids out to Sam’s Club to pick up a few things we needed at home. Ella found some beautiful flowers and wanted to get them for mommy. Sam’s loves sunflowers and roses, so it was almost as though she knew exactly which ones to get.

We hoped to get a cake while we were there, but they didn’t have any. On the way home we stopped at the little grocery store around the corner from us. There were three cakes there and Ella picked the one with a sun on it. When I asked the girl at the counter if she could write on it, she asked what it should say, and Ella just spouted off, “It has to say ‘Happy Birthday, Mommy’ on it!” The woman asked Ella what color she wanted it in and she told her it had to be pink.

When we got home, we decided to make mommy a birthday card. I wrote on it and she “colored” in it. I helped both her and Andrew “sign” their names. She was so excited to give it to her this morning.

When Sam got home this morning, we went out to breakfast. This would mark the first time that either one of our children has been in a restaurant to eat! Hard to believe, but it is true. Sam and I prepared for the worst. We expected Ella to be running all over the place and Andrew to just cry through the whole thing. We were surprised at just how well behaved they both were! It was a very nice breakfast.

The restaurant wasn’t too busy when we got there. It was mostly retirees and older couples eating. It was a tad busier when we left. Ella said that she had to say goodbye before we could go. So she stopped in the middle of the aisle and yelled, “Goodbye, friends!” It was priceless. We were getting the kids in the car and the waitress came out to stop me. I thought maybe I paid the wrong bill or something. Nope, she just wanted to give each of the kids a plastic duckie.

Sam needed to head to bed when we got home. She had to work tonight, too. Before she did, she only had one request – a photo with the kids.

This was like the fourth or fifth picture. It’s hard to get Ella to sit still long enough for one now! The first three Andrew was smiling like crazy, but he obviously only had three takes before the smile went away!

What a wonderful weekend to celebrate, Sam! One thing is for sure, I’m gonna be diligent to keep scheduling monthly date days/nights!!

Happy birthday, Sam. I love you now and forever!

Something to look forward to

It seems like forever since my wife and I have actually had a night (or day for that matter) out. We will remedy that tomorrow. Even though I work tonight, I have arranged for the kids to visit Nana and Papa tomorrow so that we can enjoy some time together.

Sam’s birthday is coming up on Monday, and we’re taking the day to celebrate it. We will definitely be going out to dinner (or lunch) at one of our favorite restaurants. While there are a list of possible things to do as well, nothing is really set in stone. We are simply looking forward to time together – just us.

I think it was Anthony Robbins who once said, “Do what you did in the beginning of a relationship and there won’t be an end.” There is a lot of truth to that. Our love was built by spending time together. We talked. We held hands. We dated. Yes, we are a family now, but together – Sam and I are the foundation of that family. In order to strengthen the family, we cannot lose sight of “US.”

There is so much truth to the above quote! Our challenge has always been our work schedules. We have already talked about the need for us to make sure that we are taking time off from work to be sure that we have time to be together. That is SO important. Without that time to strengthen our relationship and husband and wife – our roles are mom and dad will suffer (and so will our family).

This may sound ridiculous, but knowing that we will have this time together tomorrow has me so very excited. There is a new found energy in anticipating our date tomorrow. Even this morning, when I got home from work, I watched my wife as she walked into the kitchen and took in all her beauty. My mind raced as I thought about just being able to sit across from her and have the opportunity to hold her hand and look into her eyes. I’m excited to be able to kiss her without the cries of a child interrupting that moment. I can’t wait to hug her without a tug on my pant leg because of spilled milk that needs to be cleaned up.

Tomorrow – I plan on enjoying every single moment that my wife and I get to be a couple. I cannot wait to celebrate her – celebrate us – and celebrate all we have been blessed with!

Aaargh You Excited? Absolutely!

As the title of this blog suggests – I am excited. I have a couple things to be excited about and I wanted to share them with you. I guess I should explain the whole pirate flag first …

What Kind of Shoes Go With a Peg Leg?

My job often requires us to put in for time off months in advance. This is never an easy thing for me, because quite frankly I barely know what I am doing next week. At any rate, a day or two after the May schedule was posted, I found out about an event coming up that I had to go to!

There is a nature preserve and arboretum near us that is having a Daddy/Daughter event. It fell on a day that I work, so I hurried and put in a request to swap days if possible. Luckily, my boss was able to switch my schedule for the day so that I could go to this with Ella. I didn’t know much about the event, other than it has a pirate theme. Honesty, I thought it was a Daddy/Daughter dance with a pirate theme, but I don’t think that is the case now. Either way, I am excited to have a special night with my little girl.

I may have to do some searching on the internet for a pirate costume! When I thought about it, I remembered that there was an episode of Ella’s favorite show, Bubble Guppies that featured Alice Cooper (Yes, THE Alice Cooper) as a pirate named Windy Pete. Maybe we could go dressed like they did in that episode?

Of course, Windy Pete has a penguin, who he thinks is a parrot in the show. I might look a little funny with a penguin on my shoulder.

… and ear muffs! I would look weird as a pirate with ear muffs.

I can’t even begin to tell you how very excited I am to have this Daddy/Daughter event to look forward to in a few months!

Celebrating 4 Years

My wedding anniversary is coming up on Saturday. I am excited to be able to share some time with my wife. Our schedules do not allow for us to spend time together often. The schedules work well for minimizing the need for child care, but husband/wife time is lacking.

Having two children under 2 has really taken a lot out of both of us. We were lacking good sleep before, but it has reached a whole new level of tiredness. Lack of sleep is not good for anyone, and as sleep technologists we are well aware of the issues go along with that. We both tend to be a bit shorter with each other. Little things tend to get under our skin a bit more. All of it is due to our lack of sleep.

That being said, I decided that I wanted to make sure to do something special for our anniversary. My wife deserves it. I don’t know how she does it. I wish I could afford to have someone come over and watch the kids so she could sleep. She hasn’t really ever had a break and we’re both feeling the stress – her more than me!

I have never been the best gift giver. 9 times out of 10, she knows what I get before I even give it to her. I guess I really suck at that. I also am not the best at coming up with interesting things to do. I’m not sure why, but I kinda suck at that too.

I began a search of all of the nearby theaters a few weeks ago. I was hoping that somewhere there would be a play, a concert, or event we could go see. We had been talking about seeing the Symphony, but that show falls on a Sunday and she works. The only thing that I found happening on Saturday near us was a hockey game. I’m sure she wouldn’t enjoy that as much as I would (and it is not about me, but about her, so hockey was out)!

Interrupting to tell a funny story

I had taken $100 out of our account and stuck it in my wallet to use for our anniversary. I wasn’t quite sure what I was doing yet, but I wanted to have it ready. I had taken Andrew to the doctor and Sam gave me her insurance card. I put it back in my coat pocket to give back to her and forgot to do so when we got back. When I was sleeping before work, Sam was making appointments and needed the numbers off her card. So she went looking for it. No big deal, she knows the places I usually put my wallet, so she looked for her card – and found the $100.

When I woke up, she said she was looking for her card and asked why I had $100 in my wallet. I was so surprised that she found it, I fumbled around trying to lie my way out of why I had it. “It must have been in there for a long time and I forgot about it!” LOL – who the hell am I trying to kid?! She is my wife and knows me better than anyone! She knew I was flubbing my way through! I finally told her I was saving it for our anniversary. I should have just come out and told her, but I didn’t want her knowing I was spending that much.

This Saturday

As far as Saturday night, I knew I was going to take her to dinner. We always go to Lucky’s Steakhouse, which we love, but I wanted to do something a bit different. Some co-workers and friends offered up some really neat places (which I plan on going to in the future), but I wanted to stay semi close to home so we weren’t out all night. We have a sitter, and I know she’s totally ok with us being out late, but I know Sam would feel better if we were close.

So I have two things planned – one is dinner and the other is a surprise. I really hope that she is going to like it. I can’t wait to go. She knows what towns we are going to and keeps questioning “What is there that we can do?” She’s pretty good at figuring stuff out, so I hope that she doesn’t before Saturday.

I also ordered her a couple gifts. One has already arrived (and needs to be wrapped). The other is something that probably won’t arrive before Saturday. Again, she probably has some sort of idea about what I may have gotten her, so I hope she doesn’t figure it out. I wish that I could give gifts like she does. She hears me mention something off the cuff and stuffs it away in her mental filing cabinet until she needs it and then always surprises me. But she can always figure mine out. Example: We were at Target the other day. She saw that her favorite author, Jodi Picoult, had a new book out. I immediately think “I need to buy this for her.” If I hand her a gift bag, she will know that it is that book. (For the record – I did NOT buy that book for her! Now, I may at a later date, but not for our anniversary.

I am truly excited to have a day/night with my wife. I know she would be happy just walking the mall (as a matter of fact, she told me that!), but I am really hoping to make the day special for her. I need to make sure that I find something that we can do together at least once a month. We need a date night. It is easy to lose “us” time with two kids, and “us” is SO important right now.

I can’t wait!

Favorite Films – The 2010’s

As I looked back over the last year’s worth of blogs, I was reminded that I had yet to finish a series I started on my favorite films. The premise of the series is to pick a favorite movie (that you have seen) for every year of your life. This series started with 1970 (the year of my birth) and was broken up by decade. I concluded in November with the years 2000-2009. It’s time to finish up this series….

2010

In 2010, my oldest son would have been 8, and my youngest son was 3. Many of the movies I watched were kid movies. Some of them were good enough to rank as my favorite films.

Among the kid films I watched in 2010 were Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, How to Train Your Dragon, and Toy Story 3. I guess Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 could almost be classified as a kid’s movie, but I know how much adults loved the series, too. As someone who loves time travel movies, I was left a bit disappointed with Hot Tub Time Machine. Date Night with Steve Carell and Tina Fey probably should have been a whole lot funnier, but it wasn’t. Iron Man 2 was a decent sequel. Grown Ups had potential, but was kind of a flop. The King’s Speech was a very good film. I enjoyed it a lot, but the film that stands out as my favorite is Shrek Forever After.

My kids loved the Shrek movies. I did too. Shrek the Third was really the worst of the series. I really hoped that this final film in the series would be good – and it was! The idea of an altered universe was such a great story line. It was fun to see Fiona as this great warrior and Puss In Boots as a chubby cat. It was a fitting wrap up to a fun series. I am hoping that my daughter will want to watch them with me!

2011

2011 brought me to many more kid movies, including Rango, Rio, Kung Fu Panda II, Cars 2, and the terrible revival of The Muppets. The Harry Potter series wrapped with Part 2 of the Deathly Hallows. Crazy, Stupid Love was more serious than I thought, but wasn’t a bad film. I enjoyed Limitless with Bradley Cooper a lot. Sequels included Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, The Hangover II, Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol (which was ok), and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (which I really enjoyed. I thought Robert Downey Jr. was good in these, despite the hate many reviews had for him). Cowboys and Aliens was a waste of time. Horrible Bosses was just ok. Bridesmaids was played up as this huge comedy, and while there were some funny parts, I really think this was more of a drama. I didn’t think it was as good as all the hype. My favorite film of 2011 was Puss In Boots.

It was neat to see the origins of this character. I am glad he got his own movie. Antonio Banderas is just perfect as the voice of this character! Just like in the Shrek movies, we also see some of the fairy tale characters. Who knew Humpty Dumpty was such a bad guy!? Loved this film!

2012

2012 brought us The Avengers, The Hunger Games, and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The kids and I watched Brave (which was a very good film) and Hotel Transylvania. As a fan of the Three Stooges, I was apprehensive about seeing the 2012 movie. It was not great, but kudos to Sean Hayes, Will Sasso, and Chris Diamantopoulos, who all did great as Larry, Curly, and Moe. Seven Psychopaths was actually a very good movie – Christopher Walken is excellent in it! Anthony Hopkins is very good as Alfred Hitchcock in the biography Hitchcock, but it was another biographical film that gets my vote for favorite – Lincoln.

I know many folks found this film long and boring, but I found it fascinating! I remember the first picture of Daniel Day Lewis as Lincoln – wow! It was amazing! They really made him look like him. I read often about Lincoln’s Assassination (and JFK’s, too). His story is so intriguing to me. The supporting cast was just as good.

2013

2013 had me at the movies with my kids for The Croods, Despicable Me 2, Monsters University, Turbo, and Frozen. Sequels included The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and A Good Day to Die Hard. The Incredible Burt Wonderstone was less than incredible. We’re The Millers was quite a disappointment. Identity Thief was not as funny as everyone said it was. Simon Pegg was in two films I saw in 2013 – The World’s End and Star Trek: Into Darkness. I enjoyed Gangster Squad, but my favorite film was the biography of Jackie Robinson – 42.

Robinson is played by Chadwick Boseman, who would go on to play James Brown in 2014. As we look back, we know how amazing a player Robinson was, but this film really shows just how difficult it was for him. I really liked this film. Harrison Ford is also good in this movie.

2014

More kid films in 2014 – I watched Mr. Peabody & Sherman, Maleficent, Penguins of Madagascar, and The Lego Movie. I really liked the Lego movie. I found myself laughing out loud a lot. A Million Ways to Die in the West was just ok – Liam Neeson was a good bad guy in it. The Doc Brown cameo is a highlight. The Hobbit trilogy wrapped up with The Battle of the Five Armies. Guardians of the Galaxy was actually better than I thought it would be. Chadwick Boseman nails James Brown in Get On Up! He was perfect! A movie which surprised me was Kingsmen: The Secret Service. I don’t know what I expected it to be, but it was very good. However, for my favorite film, I will pick an oddball comedy – What We Do In The Shadows.

In the documentary style of TV’s The Office, the movie follows some vampire roommates around as the live their lives as vampires in modern times. I really laughed out loud at the wackiness of this movie. It was so good, they have a TV series based on the film.

2015

Kids movies I watched included Minions (a sort of Despicable Me sequel), Goosebumps, and the Peanuts Movie. A kid movie which was so good it almost made my favorite – the Shaun the Sheep Movie. My kids would watch these cartoons on TV and I found myself laughing as hard as they did at them. I bought them all the DVD’s and we’d watch them together. This full length movie was very well done and is one to take the kids to! Great movie!! Mr. Holmes was a very good film which focuses on the aging Sherlock Holmes (played by Ian McKellen). Jurassic World was yet another sequel to the dinosaur series Jurassic Park. Tom Cruise returns in another IMF movie – mission: Impossible Rogue Nation. My pick for favorite – Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

The saga continues! It was so good to see Harrison Ford back as Han Solo with Carrie Fisher returning as Leia. There were old favorites and new characters to further the story and we learn all about Han and Leia’s son gone bad. It was better than I anticipated, and at times the action was hard to keep up with, but as a Star Wars fan, it was satisfying.

2016

Kid films from this year that I saw included The Angry Birds Movie (which was not very good), Sing (which was full of some great music), Trolls (which I fell asleep watching), Moana (which was good), and Finding Dory (which was better than I thought it would be). Deadpool was pretty funny – but inappropriate to watch with the kids. Star Trek Beyond was a worthy sequel. The favorite pick, though, takes us back to the galaxy far, far away – Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

What makes this such a great film is the fact that it links up the prequel trilogy to the original trilogy. You see these unknown characters in a battle to get the Death Star plans to Princess Leia. It was really an amazing film. Some people had issues with the CGI characters, but I didn’t. I thought it was awesome!

2017

2017 was a year of sequels – Star Wars had The Last Jedi, Guardians of the Galaxy got a second installment, The Kingsmen had The Golden Circle, and Blade Runner took us to 2049. I sat through The Greatest Showman – a musical which was ok, but nothing I would have picked to see by myself. I’ll go back to kids movies for my pick for favorite – The Lego Batman Movie.

Admittedly my favorite character from the 2014 Lego Movie, I was glad to see Batman get his own film. Will Arnett is great as the voice of Batman. I liked this one a lot – and I hope it gets a sequel!

2018

As the decade gets closer to wrapping up, I noticed more movies that I wanted to see and didn’t. In 2018, I wanted to see Stan and Ollie and Solo: A Star Wars Story and never saw either. I guess I need to get to the video store. Movies I did see were Deapool 2, The Hate U Give (a very good film based on the book), and Won’t You Be My Neighbor (A fantastic documentary on Mr. Rogers). Bohemian Rhapsody was just amazing! The comparison between the real Live Aid footage and the film footage was so amazing to watch. It was a very good film, and almost my pick. I had to go with The Incredibles 2 as my choice.

I waited SO long for this sequel. I hoped that it wouldn’t suck and it didn’t. I was glad that it picked up where the first one ended. It focused a bit more on Mrs. Incredible, which was ok because that led to some very funny moments with Mr. Incredible at home with the kids. This could easily be a franchise – it should get more sequels in my opinion.

2019

How sad is it that I only saw one film last year!? Really! ONE movie!!! There were plenty of remakes (all of which I didn’t want to see – Dumbo, Pet Semetary, Aladdin, Lion King)! Sequels I didn’t see – The Lego Movie 2, Toy Story 4, and Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker. I never saw Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, The Addams Family, Midway, The Joker, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Knives Out, or 1917. One movie I am anxious to see is The Irishman. I read the book and just need three hours to watch it! So what movie did I actually see? Urgh – I am embarrassed to even share it. I wouldn’t call it a favorite. It was ok. It was better than I thought. My kids had to explain half of it to me. But, since it is the only film I saw last year – it has to be the pick, right?? At least until I watch some of the others from 2019…..

The film I saw in 2019 – Pokémon Detective Pikachu.

See the look on his face? That’s how I feel about only seeing THAT movie!! URGH!

I really need to watch others so I can alter this …

Final Thoughts

Despite the way the decade ended … I had fun looking back through all of the various movies I watched over my lifetime. It helped me realize many movies I have always wanted to see and jot them down. It also served as a reminder of all the bad films I have seen – LOL!

I hope you enjoyed this series of blogs. you may now make fun of me about that last one!

Cheers!

Weekend Wrap-Up

wrap up

Because of my “real job” work schedule, I have Thursday-Saturdays off. I have my sons three weekends a month, and I love that time with them. One weekend a month, my wife get a “date” weekend. This past weekend was that weekend.

Thursday

Thursday is usually a short day, because I work the night before. I sleep late into the afternoon, and then begin the process of going from “midnight” mode to “daytime” mode. Thursday night, Sam and I didn’t feel like cooking, so we went to our favorite restaurant for dinner.

luckys_fenton-768x297

I LOVE Lucky’s! Not surprising I am a “meat and potatoes” guy. I usually get a Filet Mignon and baked potato. Because I am currently on Weight Watchers, I opted for broccoli instead of the potato this time. I also drank water, instead of beer. The steak was cooked to perfection, as always. I love when a steak is cooked and seasoned so right, you don’t need to put anything in it. I always ask for steak sauce, but never use it.

Friday

Friday is “weigh in” day for me. After the BIG meal the night before, I stepped on the scale hoping I had lost weight. Happily, I was down 4 pounds and that took me to an overall milestone.

30 pounds weight - SMALL

What an amazing feeling to be down 31 pounds. Years ago, when I first did Weight Watchers, I hit a 30 pound loss on the week of my 30th birthday. I was a bit lighter then, but I am working toward being down to where I was the first time I did it. The journey continues!

***

I am not ashamed to admit that I’ve been seeing a therapist since before my divorce. I needed to have someone who was non-biased to talk to. It was a decision that I am glad to have made. She has helped me in so many ways. I have learned much about myself, and gained many skills through our visits. I had an appointment Friday morning. She, once again, hit on something that really helped me. I’ve been struggling with something outside of my home life and she helped put some things in perspective. Those moments are awesome. It should help a lot moving forward. It’s always a good thing to be able to talk to someone who sees things in a different way and can offer honest opinions and advice.

***

Sam had a practice exam she had to do for her final clinical class. It was a three hour test that is helping her prepare for the actual test she needs to take for her new credentials. While she worked on that, I finished the book I was reading.

first conspiracy

Can you imagine America without George Washington? Me either! Hell, he’s one of the first famous people you learn about in elementary school. I went to elementary long before there was President’s Day. When I was in school, we celebrated Washington’s Birthday and Lincoln’s Birthday in February. Washington, the “Father of our Country”, was almost NOT.

This book is a work of non-fiction by one of my favorite authors, Brad Meltzer. As a history buff, I was excited to read this. This all takes place prior to the Revolutionary War, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and his presidency. As a matter of fact, I was surprised at just how close to the start of the war and July 4, 1776 all this took place.

You get a really good picture as to what kind of man Washington was. Through excerpts of his letters, you see the various struggles he faced and the stress he bore on his shoulders. You really get a sense of the weight and pressure that was on him during this turbulent time in our nation’s history. You also see the “birth” of counter-intelligence. It’s a very good read.

Turn

The book takes place prior to the Revolutionary War primarily, but it does touch on the first few battles of it. It mentions the “Culper Ring,” which was a group of spies that Washington used to gain information throughout the war. AMC did a very cool series surrounding the Culper Ring in the series Turn, which I believe is still on Netflix. Ian Kahn played Washington in the series.

Washington

I watched the entire series, but now that I have read this book, I think I am going to revisit it.

***

We spent part of the day grocery shopping and we made turkey burgers for dinner. We then retired to the couch to relax. The original plan was to watch a movie, but when we turned the TV on, the Tigers were on, so we watched the game. It was their “Pink Out the Park” game.

PinkOutthePark2019

As you know, my mother and grandmother both died of breast cancer. I wish I had known that it was “Pink Out” day. If I had, I may have gotten tickets to the game. I LOVE when professional sports supports a cause like this.

The Tigers lost (miserably, I might add). Tiger fans are living through more of the “we are building” stage. Basically, that means we’re going to suck for a few years. Maybe, because of this, I haven’t really been watching or listening to a lot of games this year. At any rate, the game was one of the first ones I really got to sit and listen to the broadcasters.

Matt and Kirk

Matt Shepard and Kirk Gibson were calling the game. I was quite disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, I love Gibby as a ball player, but as an announcer, he is boring and monotone. If there wasn’t a game to watch, and it was just audio, I would have fallen asleep. I guess I was lucky to have watched George Kell and Al Kaline call games on TV, and Ernie Harwell and Paul Carey call games on radio when I was growing up.

***

After the game was over, Sam and I tuned in for one of our favorite shows – Live PD.

Live PD

I have dissed “reality” shows before. This, however, is not Survivor, the Bachelor, American Idol, America’s Got Talent, or those other shows about winning money or a bride. This is real cops doing their job. I LOVE this show! There are some other variations of this show – Live Rescue and PD Cam – which are good too. In my many years on the radio, I have interviewed police, fire, and rescue people before and I ALWAYS made sure to say “thank you.” They are out there putting their lives on the line, saving lives, and keeping us safe. Live PD is a guilty pleasure.

Host Dan Abrams has actually wrote a couple books I want to read: Lincoln’s Last Trial and Theodore Roosevelt for the Defense. Definitely, two to add to my stack of books to read.

Saturday

Saturday started early, as usual, for me. I have to be up early so I can get to the radio station to be on air at 9.

Moose small

I worked for the Moose years ago full time. I left to take a morning show position. I was so grateful to be asked to return part-time. The staff hasn’t changed much since I left and it’s like returning home to family. I truly enjoy being back there.

***

I woke up Saturday feeling like I might have a sinus infection. This is never a good thing for me. Upon feeling those symptoms, I need to act fast. If I don’t, I wind up with vertigo. Every time I have ever gotten vertigo, it has happened because of a sinus infection. Unlike, Mel Brooks poking fun at it in High Anxiety…..

vertigo

…it’s not fun. It is crippling! The last time I had it, I couldn’t even sleep in a bed. I had to sleep sitting up. The dizziness is SO bad. I swear, I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. You have no control over anything. You can barely turn your head. EVERY little movement can cause you dizziness. It’s awful.

Because of this, Sam and I went to the Urgent Care and I got checked out. Definitely the start of a sinus infection. So they gave me some steroids to bring down the swelling, told me to up the Flonase and sent me on my way. So far – so good. Fingers crossed!

***

While we were filing the fridge Friday night after grocery shopping, Sam pulled out the package of bacon that was in there. She looked at me and said, “You know….BLT’s sound really good. We should do that for dinner tomorrow.” Behold the power of bacon!!

Tomatoes - Summer 2016

So, we had BLT’s for dinner! “You’re on a diet, though, Keith” you say? Yes, indeed. And Turkey bacon works just as well! Sam had hers on bread and I had mine in a low carb wrap – BLT wraps are just as good!!

The Week Ahead …

I may have a Guest Blogger lined up in response to my earlier blog. If you have a story about us you’d like to share, a favorite memory, or a story that one of my blogs reminded you of – I’d love to hear it. Let me know.

It’s back to work for me, tonight, but I have a very important appointment to keep this week. It can mean some big changes on the horizon. It’s exciting. If all goes well, I will be sharing the “breaking news” in the days ahead ….

BREAKING-NEWS

Until then … Have a great week. See you Tuesday for Tune Tuesday.

New Year’s Resolutions

It’s that time again …

Every year around this time I have a joke that I recycle when I am on the radio. Basically, I say that I am going to make some New Years Resolutions I can actually keep. I then proceed to list how I am (1) going to gain 20-30 pounds (2) live paycheck to paycheck (3) procrastinate more and (4) personally bring back Disco. The last one usually changes from year to year, but disco is what I used on the air this year.

In all seriousness, a recent study shows that most New Year’s Resolutions are broken by January 12th. Wow, only 12 days! I guess I can see that, especially if the resolutions are biggies. I have learned that it is important to keep resolutions easy and attainable. While I would love to lose about 100 pounds, I’ll be happy if I lose 20.

I do have some resolutions that I am planning to put in place for the new year and I think that many of them are reasonably attainable. Some say that you should only make a few resolutions, but I have made a list of many. I figure with a lot of them, if I achieve a couple, that’s a win!

I Resolve

Make More Lists. Hey, look at that! I am already starting on my resolutions and it’s not even 2019! I have found that I am forgetting things. I used to make fun of people who made lists, but I now realize that those lists can help.
Walk More. I am not sure why I don’t do this more. Maybe it’s because I work midnights and am tired all the time. I don’t know. I love to walk. I just need to do it more. Time to make time.
Exercise/Be Active. Ok, technically, this goes with “walk more”. I’m hoping that walking more will lead me to this one. We’ve been debating getting a gym membership for a long time. Perhaps we just need to make it happen.
Make More Coffee at Home. I probably spend way too much on coffee from Tim Horton’s. We recently bought some awesome cups that keep coffee hot for hours. Making coffee is really a no brainer. It saves money and it’s always made right (nothing worse that ordering coffee from a drive thru and it is burnt or lukewarm). My sons bought me two bags of my favorite coffee from Coffee Beanery, so I should be set for a bit.
Make More Meals at Home. This goes hand in hand with the above resolution. We recently got one of those Instant Pots. So far, we love it! We made some amazing Potato Soup and chicken and dumplings in it already. I see this as being extremely helpful in making foods for us to bring to work for lunch/dinner. Again, it will also help us save money. It will also help cut out fast food.
Date Nights With My Wife. My wife is pretty damn amazing. I love spending time with her and I resolve for more date nights. Many date nights can consist of dinner or going out, but we have also enjoyed home cooked meals and time together on the couch watching movies. I am going to make it a point of pampering her regularly in the new year.
More Family Time. This kind of goes with the last item, except this is more geared toward my sons, my dad, and my brother. I have been meaning to take my sons out to learn how to golf. My dad did that with me, and I think they might enjoy it. I also want to throw the ball around more with them. My dad lives an hour away, and I am resolving to do more visits to see him, whether it is just my wife and I, or with the boys. I am also hoping to make a jaunt down to see my brother, who lives in that state with the very bland landscape – Ohio.
Drink More Water. Ok, I am not stupid. I know how drinking water helps with weight loss, blood pressure, and healthy living in general. I, however, always seem to drink coffee…because I work midnights! Well, I am making it a point in the new year to drink more water. Along with that, I will plan on more visits to the bathroom to pee.
Read a Book a Month. I absolutely LOVE to read! I read a variety of genres. I love biographies, mysteries, and historical stuff. I have a stack of books at home that I have been meaning to read, and I am hoping to read all of them before the year is up. This is one resolution I hope to over shoot. I would love to read two or three books a month, if I can. My wife and my boys got me some great books for Christmas that will probably jump to the top of the “to read” stack.
Give a Compliment a Day. I know I am always glad when someone offers me a compliment. Recently, I did a bit about Stan Lee on the radio. My boss texted me and said how much he liked it. The next day, one of the other jocks from another station in the building said that she had heard another bit I did on the air and said how much she was impressed by it. Getting a compliment makes you feel good – so why not give them out often? I plan on being generous with compliments in the new year.
Book a Trip. My wife and I will be celebrating one year of marriage in March. We’re not sure where we’re going yet, but have some destinations in mind. An anniversary trip will be booked soon!
Say “No” More. Very often we are pulled in many directions. We often feel that it is necessary to agree to something, even though we really don’t want to do it. We commit to things to make others happy and by doing so we sacrifice things that are important to us. It’s ok to say “no”, and I plan on doing it a bit more this year.
Get More Sleep. This, in itself, is a huge challenge. With the time off over the holidays, my body has been very happy to get a decent amount of sleep. I am really hoping to keep up that momentum and continue to get at least 6 hours every night. This is not always easy, but I know all too well the importance of a good night’s sleep. I work as a sleep technologist and we are forever telling patients the importance of sleep. Time to practice what I preach.
Listen More/Complain Less. Not really sure why I bunched these two together, but I did. As I stated in a previous blog, we often don’t really listen to what people are saying to us because we are already formulating our response while they are still talking. I am really going to try my best to listen more. I am also very quick to complain about certain things. Rather than complain, I am going to find the positives and focus on them.
Get Organized. You know what is sad? I actually think I am organized…..until I need to find something. My wife will often make fun of me because I tend to sort things in “piles”. The “to do pile”, the “to call” pile, the “not sure what to do with” pile, and so on. I’m not sure how to do this….but I hope to figure it out within the next 12 months and am open to suggestions.
Expand My Vocabulary. My friend, Johnny, gets an email with a “word of the day”. I know there are also calendars with a “new word everyday” you can buy. I might have to look for one. Learning new words is just one of the things I miss about elementary school. I always enjoyed getting a list of words and learning them. I used to “show off” by using those new words in front of relatives! I still try to use the word “kibitz” at least once a week!
Limit Phone Time. Let’s face it, we are glued to our cell phones! I need to remind myself that there is more to life than Memes on Facebook. When I am home with my wife or with my kids, I am really going to try to put the phone down so that I can enjoy time with them.
Show My Gratitude. “Thank You” are two words that cannot be said enough. Sadly, there are many who neglect to say them when they should. I resolve to express my gratitude to those who help me, those who do something for me, or those who just offer a compliment or advice. A friend of mine has what she calls a “gratitude journal”. Every night, she writes something she is thankful for. She then reviews it at the end of each month. What a cool idea! Might be interesting to actually see all the things in your life that you are grateful for on a regular basis.
Make “Me” Time. A few years ago, I realized that I could not improve the other things in my life, until I started to improve “me”. How can you make others happy when you yourself are not happy? Finding time for yourself is such an important and overlooked thing! Maybe that “me” time is reading a book, watching cat videos on YouTube, or cutting the grass. Whatever it is, finding some moments for yourself is beneficial for everyone. I will be sure to set aside “me” time often in the new year.
“Making a Decision on School”. My wife basically gave me an ultimatum recently. I have been going back and forth as to whether or not to go back to school. This is probably the most daunting thing on my “to do” list. It is such a big question mark! There are so many things to consider. I need to figure this out….and I will.
“Write More”. Through the encouragement of others, I have found writing to be one of my favorite things. My brother got me a book with creative writing topics, some of which will be future blogs. While many blogs I write are personal, I also like to write about movies, music, and other things. I have a feeling much of the “me” time I will have, will be spent writing.

So there they are. That’s some list, huh? Maybe I’ll be able to accomplish more than one of these things in 2019. Maybe you will find something on my list to add to your list of resolutions? I hope so.

Now, if you can do me a favor and every once in a while ask how I am doing on my list … I’d appreciate it!

Wishing you much success and all the best in 2019!

Keith