A Tribute To Friends

After a year of living away from my friends, we have moved a lot closer. I couldn't think of a better Saturday then to have them come over. I don't like to use names, but Jeff and Karla are friends that anyone would love to have. I didn't realize how much I missed seeing and hanging out with them, until we had a few beers and ate some great brats and burgers(Thanks Jeff). It was an evening that we have been missing.

It's a unique thing when you have friends that no matter how far or how long you are gone, it doesn't take more than a second to feel right at home. We realized that Jeff and I have been friends for almost 20 years, and although my life choices have taken me all over the world, we always pick up right were we left off. The greatest thing, is that Sarah has become close to them too. We are all able to hang out in many different atmosphere's, without having any hitch at all.

I am truly thankful or having the family that I have, and having two great friends who I consider part of our family as well. Here's to many more fun times together.

Gotta Vent a Little Bit.

You know, something happened a couple of weeks ago that really grinds my gears(Thanks Family Guy!!) I was once told that no matter how old you are, you can never call yourself a man until you have a job and support your family. I've done a lot of things in my life, and I have never felt more accomplished in this regard, until I was married with kids. I have worked hard to put food on the table, and support my daughters ever growing barbie habit. At the end of the day, that's what it's all about. The reason I bring this up is to tell you about some other guy I know.

My wife has this friend who has been married probably a year longer than we have. Her husband, pretty much quit his job the day after they got married.  Now, she is a nurse and makes decent money. From what my wife told me, he hadn't worked in a year since they got married. His excuse is that he has diabetes, and he can't work very long. I'm sure having that takes a toll on you but, not that much. He has all the witty comments about how marriage is a business partnership and each person has to bring something positive to the relationship. He even laughs when he says his wife made a bad decision marrying him cause he brings nothing to the table. That is about the only thing I can agree with him about.

Anyways, this guy just rubs me the wrong way. His wife does all the working, and he can't even help her around the house. He leaves dog shit on the floor for her to clean up. He use to work for EMS, but decided he wants to be a cop. Now, having prior work in that field, I knew quite a bit about it. I tried to warn her that with 3 repossessions, crappy and unstable work history, and not paying child support for his kid, it was going to be almost impossible to get hired anywhere. So, he talks his wife into paying for the Police Academy, which he takes and passes. But he still hasn't found a job, and has to wait for his wife to fill out applications for him. Not to mention he has ran or stayed in any kind of shape since he graduated. It's been 6 months, and I don't think he's turned in one application. Now, he has given up and moving on to other jobs. I just can't help but think this guy is a total piece of crap. I can't respect a damn word that comes out of his mouth. He talks a big game, but I see right thru it.

Not to keep rambling, but I am a bit of a gun nut. I have been to Glock armorer school, and many shooting schools. I few years ago, I was shooting over 1000 rounds a week with my pistols. I was an expert shooter in the Marines as well. I know my guns, and I know them well. I got stuck going to a gun shop with him one day, and he pretty much was embarassing himself by all the shit he was talking.

So, I guess I will get to the point. We ran into him and his wife not too long ago, and of course, he walked up, and I held my hand out to give him a handshake(I kinda wanted to squeeze his hand hard enough to break it!!) and the guy actually stuck out his fingers and shook my hand worse than a girl would. I couldn't freaking believe it. All the talk, and not one drop of action from this guy. I really want to tell his wife that she needs to get away from that dumpster of death she is married to, but it's just not my style. You gotta learn the lessons the hard way sometimes. Let's just say this, since we moved to this new house, I have been urging my wife to not disclose our address to them. I really not want him infecting the harmony of our life.

Maybe I am being too hard on this guy, but I really don't think I am.

What do you think??

The New House

Phew, what a weekend!!!  We loaded both cars up and went to the new house Friday to set up what we could. Sarah and I went home in my truck, and got a decent nights sleep. We got up early Saturday morning and did all the last minute packing and took the rest of the furniture apart. The guy I asked to help no showed on us, so we were left with two of my wife's coworkers. Thank god they were there. The loading took about an hour, and we made the drive to the new house. Just a side note, because my help didn't show up, we had loaded my truck completely down with stuff, so my poor wife had to rde on the center console for about an hour.

Anyhoo, we got to the new house, unloaded everything and spent the rest of the weekend putting everything up. The move went pretty smooth. We just have to hang pictures and we are all done. Who would have thought that coming to work would be an escape from all the hard work we put in this weekend. I feel like I was hit by a truck!! The only other bad thing was that all the moving caused me to miss most of the Championship games this weekend. I guess reading the highlights will have to suffice until Super Bowl.

Baby on Board

I've been watching that past few weeks as our baby grows in Sarah's tummy. I can't help but get even more excited. I watch her moving around, and I catch myself imagining her being in a pool. Remember when we were kids. You hold on to the side of the pool and use your legs to push yourself across the water really fast. That's what I think our baby is doing. I know there isn't that much room in there, but it's still funny to me.

Last night I put my hand on her tummy, and felt little Keaghan scooting up to my hand to get all the warmth. It's really an amazing feeling, and I can't wait to finally meet her. I missed a lot of our other daughter, Emily', life while I was serving overseas, so a lot of this is going to be new to me. I am really look forward to watching her come out and see her for the first time. It's going to be very special to have our family be complete. If anything else, it will give me a chance to go practice shooting my pistol, cause now I am going to have 2 daughters to protect;-)

I will keep you all posted on our status as the time goes on. We are 12 weeks and counting for the baby to come out. Look out world!!!

It's Go Week!!!!

Here we are, a few work days away from moving into the new house. We've gotten a lot done so far, but there is still things to do. I ended up getting a fridge and new dishwasher for free from some coworkers, and I got over to the house. I was sitting there waiting for my wife to show up when I realized that I forgot the dolly, and the dishwasher was broken. I was a little upset about that. I got my wife's car unloaded, and went to Lowes to exchange the dishwaher. I found a scratch and dent that would work great. Problem Solved!!

Now, on to the fridge. My father in law showed up and we had to muscle that thing all the way up the stairs. It was a tough carry, but we got it done. Finally, I went to hook it up only to find that the water line is too short. Nothing really went right that day, but spending a few minutes on our new porch made it all better. Not to mention a great lunch made by my mother in law.

Now, I am pumped to get everything else moved. My wife, Sarah, and I are doing little things all week to get ourselves ready. We've got some friends coming to help, and that's all we need. It's funny when you are packing, you never realize how much stuff you actually have. For some reason, I have so much clothing that I have collected over the years, that it takes over the closet. I guess it's as good a time as any for some donating. Maybe someone else can get more use out of them than I can.

Anyways, wish us luck on our move this weekend. Hopefully it's quick and painless

What's A Guy To Do With Daughters??

So here I sit, with a 6 year old daughter and another daughter on the way. I can't help but be a little freaked out. I guess being a guy, I know what we are capable of and I am sure over-protective of my girl. It's pretty bad, when I scoff at the notion of anything Justin Bieber!!! She got a braclet with his picture on it, and was so excited, and all I was trying to do is figure out a way for it to fall in the trash can. It doesn't help that my wife would just go out and replace it. (I love you Honey) I had to throw that in just in case she reads this.

I think I am going to end up being the dad who cleans guns on the kitchen table when she starts dating. Either that or tell the guy that if he thinks about doing something with her that I have no problem going back to prison!! (You gotta think the movie industry for giving us lines like that)  Either way, it's pretty scary watching her grow up knowing we get to do it with another one in a few months. It's gonna happen so, I gotta strap myself in for a wild ride. Hopefully I can bring all of you with me

Welcome To My Blog World

It's funny that I spent so much time making fun of my wife for reading blogs all the time. I catch her laughing out loud most of the time we are sitting on the couch in the evening. Most of the time I think she is laughing at my humor, but then I see the phone in her face and realize it's not me. I never really got the whole blog thing, but as time has gone on, I realized that I like writing these funny stories for people.

I was searching around yahoo one day, and signed up for their contributor network. I've already had 3 articles published for various things. Being a young dad, and trying to take care of my family, I noticed that several of my articles pertained to my wife and daughter. Hopefull the advise that I give will be well needed for someone else.

A little about me, I am 33 years old and live in the Houston area. I have had a very interesting life, ranging from the cattle business to serving in the Marines. My life lessons use to help a lot of young Marines when we were on deployments. I became the Yoda of my unit because I was a little older than most of them.

As I go on, I will try my hardest to bring my readers all the aspects of my life, and if I can help just one of them, I will be happy. Plus, as my wife will tell you all, my stories can go on and on.....