Authenticity Above All

And then he kicked me...

2008-06-14T14:30:00.000-07:00

Of all the joys that brighten suffering earth, what joy is welcomed like a new-born child?
- Lady Caroline Sheridan Norton

Last night when we went to bed Mary said Ben was kicking her hard. Then she felt one by placing her hand on her tummy. She had never felt one this way before. So I reached over to check it out. Ben settled down and refused to kick anymore. I was disappointed but I was happy for Mary. After a few minutes he started kicking again. This time when I reached over I felt it. A little kick. Freaking awesome.

We're having a baby.

2008-02-17T12:12:00.000-08:00

Babies are such a nice way to start people.
- Don Herold

Mary and I are expecting. It should be a baby. That's a picture of the little bugger. It was cool to see the heart beating and the baby moving around. Lucky for Mary her uterus was pointed the right way so no vaginal ultrasound was necessary. We are due in September.

UPDATE!!!

2008-01-10T20:06:00.000-08:00

I have a great confidence in the revelations which holidays bring forth.
- Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield

Okay so it's been a while so here's the holiday update.

1. To celebrate my two weeks off of work we went to Disneyland on December 21st. It was the last day of our passes before they blacked out for the rest of the year. We went to Disneyland 25 times over the year. I never thought I would like going but now I like to go more than Mary.

2. On Saturday we went to Mary's mom's house. We had a great weekend and took all six cats down with us. It was nice. I got my first pedicure. Mary censored the next line of my blog so I just changed it to this...so blame her that the whole flow of the blog is thrown off. The pedicure was nice. Then we got to go shopping for our own Christmas presents from Mary's brother Mark. It was rad he said how much we could spend and turned us loose in Target. On Christmas day we got up late and opened a lot of presents which is always nice for me because I never had extravagant Christmases as a kid. Mary's mom likes to spoil me.

3. Following a great time with Mary's family we flew up to Sacramento to see our friends Mark and Lisa. It was the first time we have been able to see their new home. They were gracious enough to open their home to us because we decided to take a year off from my family. We had such a great time with Mark and Lisa. The first night we went out and drove through a neighborhood of really cool Christmas lights. They convinced their HOA to keep the jacuzzi open an extra week so we could use it. We also got to go up to Truckee and do some sledding. It was pretty fun but my butt was killing me because some of the sled runs were kind of hard and icy. On the way beck to their place we went out to a fondue place. After dinner it was snowing. It was so cool. Although then I had to drive down the mountain in the snow which was a little nerve racking. It was a great time and I am so thankful to Mark and Lisa for opening their home to us.

4. After we left Mark and Lisa we flew back down south. There was a party at Mary Aunt and Uncle's house because Mary's cousin and her new baby were in town. A lot of Mary's side of the family was there. We had a fun time playing her brother's Wii.

5. We spent the next two days trying to do an insanely crazy 3-D puzzle with Mary's mom, aunt, and uncle. It was so hard to do because the colors change depending on how the light hits the pieces. When it was done it was a good feeling of accomplishment.

6. We came back home on the 30th. when Mary woke up on the 31st she had an email. It seems my sister's dumbass husband had been harassing one of her friends with inappropriate and graphic sexual emails and text messages. He is such a total loser. My sister is nutttier than squirrel poop for staying with his sorry ass. My most fervent prayer is that they do not have a kid. My number two most fervent prayer is that my sister does not contract some STD from this loser. OK back to the good times.

7. On new year's eve our friends Greg and Michelle came over to our house with their two daughters. Their kids are so cute. The next day we all went to Disneyland and had a blast.

8. I went to Disneyland a couple more times then Mark and Lisa came to stay with us for a couple days. We went back to Disneyland. I discovered two important things. First, there is enough leg room for me to go on California Screaming. I went with Mark and Lisa and then went back later in the rain and rode it 3 times in a row. the second thing I learned is that there is not enough leg room on Space Mountain for me. Although I went on it I thought I was going to die from the pain.

9. Our anniversary was when Mark and Lisa were here. We went to dinner at the Blue Bayou in Disneyland. It's the restaurant that is inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. It was a fun time. After dinner Mark and Lisa met us at Disneyland and we played in the rain at Disneyland.

10. We got a new TV because I finished my Master's. Come over and watch a game because I got the HD hook up too. Here's a picture.

All in all I'd give my break a 9 out of 10. Only marked down because of my sister and her loser husband.

Our house

2007-12-17T17:36:00.000-08:00

Home is home, though it be never so homely.
- John Clarke, Paroemiologia

I likemy house. Yeah it has ugly pink colored trim. And it's old. And it seems like stuff is always in need of repair. But it also gives me the opportunity to spend great time with friends. There is enough space so that people feel comfortable spending time here. Mary has done a great job turning it into a home. Our house rules!

Disneyland

2007-12-11T21:01:00.001-08:00

It's kind of fun to do the impossible.
- Walt Disney

Went to Disneyland with Mary's family on Sunday. We got both of her brothers to go and have fun which is why the reference to the impossible. We spent the first part of the day at California Adventure which was fun. Another impossible thing happened when Mary went on Tower of Terror again. After a few more times she will insist on going on this ride I just know it.

After this we went to Disneyland. It was fun. we all pooped out before the fireworks which was kinda sad. All in all I would say it was a fun day although I was gassy.

The only down side was that I had to wait 30 minutes for a stall in the bathroom because some hoodlum put graffiti all over the stall. I think that people who tag things should just be immediately put to death. Think how much we could save as a society if we just nipped all these criminals in the bud before they go on to commit worse crimes. Anyway that was a tangent. We took a buttload of pics. To see more you can check out Mary's Myspace.

refusal

2007-12-06T21:11:00.000-08:00

Denial ain't just a river in Egypt.
- Mark Twain

I refuse to live in denial. I know that can put me in a minority in some circles. I want to live life with my eyes open. Even when it's painful, I pledge to be honest with myself and others. Authenticity Above All.

Deck the halls...FA RA RA RA RA RA RA RA RA

2007-11-26T22:10:00.000-08:00

A family is a tyranny ruled over by it's weakest member.
- George Bernard Shaw

My holiday season is going to be different this year. We are celebrating with Mary's mom on Christmas day. Then we are heading up to Sacramento to visit our friends Mark and Lisa. We are spending 3 days with them and finally getting to see their house. We are really looking forward to spending time with them.

Unfortunately things on my side of the family are more drama-rific. We have decided to take this year off from celebrating with my family. We are sad that we won't get to see my aunts (Corinne, Beck, and Darlene) but we really need a break from all the junk that's happening. I hope that by next year things will be different and we will be able to see my family.

Thanksgiving

2007-11-24T22:11:00.000-08:00

Most turkeys taste better the day after, my mother's tasted better the day before.
- Rita Rudner

I had a pleasant Thanksgiving. Mary's aunt and uncle hosted a wonderful meal at their home. Her aunt Jayme throws a great shindig. I always feel very welcome in their home. We started off with appetizers (which were amazing) followed by a dinner with all the trimmings. Then we watched USC blow out ASU which was fun because apparently I am a USC fan. I didn't know I liked USC until this season.

My parents were in town. I went fishing on Friday with my dad but we didn't catch anything. They stayed with us on Friday night befre heading home on Saturday. This weekend has been soo long...I may actually be ready to go back to work on Monday.

Call Me Master

2007-11-19T19:10:00.000-08:00

I finished my Master's paper and presentation. It feels good to be done with it. Although my degree doesn't post until January I insist that you call me Master from this point forward.

This month has probably been the busiest of my life. My paper was about teacher job satisfaction. I put a lot of time into it. It was 88 pages long. That is too much. But I guess it's worth it. Next year I should get a 7,000 dollar raise. Then another 5,000 the following year. If I go get my level 2 credential I could be making even more. That's pretty sweet can huh?

I will leave you with a quote about education:

Nothing in education is so astonishing as the amount of ignorance it accumulates in the form of inert facts.
- Henry Brooks Adams

can't sleep...might as well blog

2007-11-16T01:11:00.000-08:00

This is a silly picture.

This has been a busy week for me. I have had 3 IEP's this week. All 3 after school. After school IEP's are brutal. Two of my meeting were triennial evaluations. That means that the meeting take at least twice as long. Today I was at work until 6:00. I was definitely a little bleary eyed by the end of the meeting.

Add to this that I have been frantically working to finish my master's paper. I finished it and sent it out to my professor. Tonight I did the PowerPoint for the oral presentation part. I just have to present it to someone and get feedback. Once I have done this I will submit it and then I will be a Master.

After all this I am pretty tired but for some reason I just keep staying up. I guess maybe I'll try to go to bed now.

Love, peace, and chicken grease.

A

This is how I feel

2007-11-14T22:48:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been feeling ...

Drama For Your Mama

2007-11-13T19:01:00.000-08:00

Here's the most recent drama...

Mary found my sister's husband on Myspace...wait a minute let me back up a little.

This guy cheated on my sister multiple times before they were married; including once the week before the wedding. He had told the girl he was sleeping with that he had called off the wedding. Then on the honeymoon he was taking calls from the other girl. After 2 weeks of marriage he told my sister that he was leaving her because he was in love with the other girl. He then left to go meet the other girl. I helped my sister cut off his phone and credit cards that they shared because her name was on the account. My dad also flew down to SoCal to help her get out of her lease. My sister's loser husband then began all his manipulative BS again and by the time I got back with my dad from the airport she was back with him. She claimed that God wanted her to work it out. (God is not a moron like my sister so why would he want this?) Anyway she took him back and moved to North Carolina with him. She got a teaching job and he got one for a week until he got fired. He has a hard time keeping a job because he is kind of a loser. So now I think we are up to date.

Back to the Myspace. Mary found him on there last night which was somewhat surprising because he had deleted his account. Mary noticed that the girl he cheated with was in his top friends and his status was divorced. So Mary wrote him a note that said she thought he was unbelievable and what the hell is wrong with him. This is the reply he sent back:

Warning: This is a direct quote with some extremely offensive language and atrocious spelling.

"mind you fucking bussiness i was told that you would not be invloled in our lives that you could not stand the drama you turned your becky noe you are all concred with her....fuck you and andy with aids dick"

What a charmer huh?

Anyway Mary and I have decided that if this guy will be around for Christmas we will not be. We may just be going up north to visit our friends instead. I am done with this loser. To me he is subhuman. He lies about everything and he is a complete A-hole.

Here's a picture of him.

Birthday Fun

2007-11-12T23:46:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I went down to my dear friend Tammy's 30th birthday party in Phoenix. It was a great chance to see friends that I don't get to see as often as I would like.

It was a fun night. Tammy wanted a costume party so everyone was dressed up. I even won a prize...for the costume that will haunt the dreams of the judges. That sounds like a strange prize but it was the goal of my costume so I count it a success. I was a former junior high baller that now lives and plays at the "Y". Mary was a Woopie Cushion complete with fart noises.

The costume that made me laugh the most was my friend Mark as Magnum PI. The costume was complete with 80's style short shorts, mustache, and transplanted beard hair as chest hair. It was great.

Tammy's parents were gracious enough to open up their home to all of us. It is a wonderful house and they are wonderful people. Mary and I even got to use the 2 person shower in the master bathroom. And Rick has a sweet set up down in the basement with an HD projector and giant screen. I had a hard time watching football this week on my regular old TV after seeing it in HD.

I love my friends and I truly believe that God has blessed me.

First one

2007-11-12T23:40:00.000-08:00

This is the first blog for me. I have decided to call my blog Authenticity Above All because that has become my personal motto. My goal with this blog is to share myself with friends and family that are interested. I would also like this to be a forum that people can share what's going on in their lives. I want connection in my life and this is an attempt to have more connection. Hopefully I can keep up this blog and it won't become one of those empty spaces relegated to random Google searches.