Fighting the battle

Over the years, I have continued to at least attempt to stay in decent physical condition. However, that seems to be increasingly difficult to do at times, and last night was one of those nights.

I go to the gym regularly to play basketball. I like to think that I am a decent player, at least good enough to where when the place is full, I am still picked to play on one of the teams. However, after my performance last night, I am not so sure that will still be the case. I don't know if it was due to lack of sleep or what my problem was but I played quite poorly. To top things off, I seem to have managed to bruise my heel somehow. Perhaps another sign that I am not doing quite so well with my battle to stay young and fit.

It's nights like last night that make me think I might be crazy for a new goal I have set for myself. I want to be able to run a marathon. I have never ran anything close to that distance. However, I have been doing some running, and think I might actually be up for it. Or let me correct that... thought I was up for it before I managed to bruise my heel. I'll take a day or two off and see how it feels, and will more than likely be able to start running again soon. It just bothers me how easily I seem to get injured lately. I guess injuries are a part of any battle though... and I'm not ready to lose this one... at least not yet.

New Babies

My son and his girlfirnd are sharing joing custody of two new baby girls.

They always get plenty of love and attention when they are staying at the house with my son...

However, he needs to be careful. They might end up getting more attention than he would like!

I'm sure his girlfriend would not appreciate it if they were left unattended and something were to happen to them.

Miss Incredible

Some people do so many things and put up with so much they are nothing short of incredible. Between doing everything from running a household, raising kids, going to school, and still finding time to have fun with family and friends, it's hard for me to understand why others would choose to attack someone like this with negative comments. I guess what it comes down to is that unfortunately, there are people out there that need to tear other people down in order to build themselves up. However, it upsets me that the people that need to do this are not even willing to take credit for their actions by signing such comments.

In short, I just wanted to go on record by saying how amazing it is that any one person can do so many things and do them so well, and still find time to do the little things, to still have fun, to still have time to share with others, and to be able to truly enjoy life.

I apologize for the picture, but you are my MISS INCREDIBLE!

PhotoShop Fun

I used to love playing with photoshop and seeing what I could do or create. I never really had the time to get into the truly advanced stuff but it was a hobby that I enjoyed playing with from time to time.

It was fun letting the boys pose for a picture, and then finding a suitable background and throwing it in behind them...


















Or seeing how many years I could take off of someone...












Or removing things from the background that you don't want included in your printed image...

















Other things I have had fun with are things such as trying to restore old or damaged photographs. It's also fun to just play with an image, distort it, or do other crazy things with them. However, I am not so sure the subjects of those images would appreciate me posting, so I will have to leave that up to your imagination ;)

Mondays

Carter and I had a great weekend. We spent the entire three day weekend together just hanging out, playing games and just having fun in general. (I took Friday off to celebrate his birthday with him.) However, inevitably, Monday morning came, and it was time for me to head to work. I leave at 5:00 am, so it was well before he woke up. I did say goodbye and give him a hug and kiss, although I am sure he does not remember it. Anyway, when I was talking with him later on Monday afternoon, he asked why I left. I told him that I had to go back to work.

He was just quiet for a little bit, and then says "Are you sure it's a work day? Maybe your boss forgot to tell you that it's not a work today and you should come home".

I assured him that my boss was there too and that it was a work day, but you just gotta love how their little hearts just come out in their words sometimes.

SummerFest

It was a fun and busy weekend with SummerFest going on. I didn't get to see much of Andrew since he spent most of the weekend hanging out with his friends and enjoying the festivities. Johnathan had to march in the parade with the band, and then he also chose to hang out with his friends after that. What else do you expect from a couple of teen aged boys?

Anyway, that left the little ones with me to enjoy the cardboard boat ragatta. It was a beautiful day, and we had a great time seeing all of the different creations try to make their way across the lake. Here are a few of the more creative entries this year:

I think this was the largest entry. I wasn't sure if those kids would be able to make it anywhere. They had trouble even getting their paddles to touch the water.

I think this one was Em's favorite. She REALLY wanted the ducky to win.

Another pirate ship. This one might have been my favorite this year.

The party barge. These guys had a ton of fun, but it started sinking on them and they couldn't finish.


A very simple yet creative design.

All in all, it was really a lot of fun, and the little ones had a blast watching all the different boats (especially the ones that sank). I think I'm going to try to get my older two boys to build one for Carter next year so he can participate. I'm not sure yet though. We might have to make it big enough that Andrew can go with him. Either way, I'm sure it would turn out to be an experience for them to remember.

Another Three Day Weekend

Yep, today is my Friday again. I'm taking tomorrow off for Carter's birthday. He will be 7. I'm not too sure what all we will do over the weekend. I don't have any big plans or anything like that, just some nice quality time with my little man.

Originally, we were supposed to be having a birthday party with a "magic" theme for him over the weekend, and I was kinda looking forward to that. However, Michelle decided to reschedule it for next weekend instead. Her explanation as to the reason for rescheduling... because I won't be there. She is such a wonderful person and a joy to be around sometimes... NOT.

However, I am still looking forward to my 3 day weekend with the kids and away from the office. I'm sure we will figure out some fun things we can do and I will try to get a few pictures to post too.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Oh joy... more work!

I went to a nice staff meeting this morning. The whole team thought it was a little odd that this meeting was scheduled in addition to the standard staff meetings, and we were all instructed to reschedule anything else if we had a conflict. Yeah, all not good signs.

Anyway, the bottom line of the meeting is that we are closing the Chicago office, and all work is to be brought here. It will be interesting trying to absorb all of the work from that office with no additional staff. Some of the developers there were offered relocation packages, but that's all, and who knows how many of them will accept.

As a few people have already told me... job security right? Well, let's hope so. In today's economy one never knows anymore. All we can do is keep doing our jobs to the best of our ability and keep hoping for the best.

A Great Holiday

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. I stayed home here in Omaha for the weekend, and except for a little light rain, it could not have been better.

I don't really have a lot to report. The fourth was filled with good friends, good food, plenty to drink and lots of fun. Then Sunday was filled with lots of quiet snuggle time watching movies on the couch while someone else slept the day away.

Anyway, for all that were there.... thank you for including me in the fun this year, and I hope we can all do it again next year.

Going Crazy

I can't believe how incredibly difficult it has become to simply hold a respectable conversation with my soon to be ex-wife. Yes, I did say soon to be... but in reality it will not be soon enough, being as I am just getting started on the whole process. The more I try to talk with her, the more frustrated I become, and it is a continuous reminder of why I am filing.

It would be very easy for me to turn this post into nothing more than a place to vent my frustrations, but there are two reasons not to. One, no one would ever want to read it.... and two, I have people in my life that are absolutely wonderful and I can vent to them saving everyone on here the agony of listening to me rant.

Anyway, I am happy to report that I will be staying in Omaha over the holiday weekend. Originally, my kids were going to be heading down to Missouri for the 4th, and therefore, I chose to make plans to stay in town and enjoy the local festivities. However, I have been informed that they are now planning to stay in Des Moines. Part of me would like to take advantage of that and head back and enjoy the holiday with them. Although, another part knows I already made plans here, and it is time to move forward and begin new traditions that don't always include running back to Des Moines at the drop of a hat. It has been a long week, and I am looking forward to relaxing at home in Omaha for a nice quiet 3 day holiday weekend!