2009 in Review

All the cool kids are doing year end lists, so why not me too??

The first six months of the year are hard to recall, honestly. I'm sure something good happened, but I can't remember >.<


In June I moved to Oconomowoc to be close to my job. I managed a branch location for an electrical distributor based in Brookfield.

In August, I married the most wonderful woman in the world; she keeps me in check and loves me in spite of my flaws. We honeymooned in the North Woods of Wisconsin; it's been almost 5 months and she hasn't killed me yet, although I'm sure she's entertained the thought.

After being home from the honeymoon for a week, I found out I was being moved from my store back to Brookfield, thus negating several plans Holly and I had. We were able to get a second car, as I needed a car to travel to cover the other branch locations once again. I was upset at first, but have accepted the role I've been given and am thankful to have a job.

Holly was working two jobs prior to our wedding; the first week of September, she was told that the morning job was closing. She was given two weeks extra pay, but we were wondering what God had in store for us. We evaluated and adjusted out budget and discovered that we would be alright financially, we just wouldn't save as much.

Third week of September, Holly is asked if she wants to go full time at Aurora Health Care, the afternoon part time job. She said yes, and began driving to Hartland in the mornings to be an administrative assistant, then driving back to Oconomowoc to do her afternoon data entry duties. We were grateful for the change.

Holly and I have learned how to hit the curveballs that life throws at us. We have also learned not to overreact and look at the situation calmly.

In December, Holly was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome in her right wrist. The first doctor made the diagnosis and recommended surgery right away. We sought a second opinion from an orthopedic surgeon who said the surgery could wait a few months, and that allowed us to carry out our vacation plans to go to Las Vegas at the end of February for the Nascar race that Holly bought us tickets for...it's my Christmas and Birthday all in one!

I love my wife and I continue to try to be a better husband to her. I make her comfort food when she has a rough day; I warm her when she's cold; I open doors for her; I hold her hand while we watch TV; I fix her computer when it breaks...there is nothing I won't do for my wife.

Merry Christmas to you, and may 2010 be a Blessed year for you.

this made me chuckle

Limited only by money

So, the trip to Las Vegas trip Holly and I have been planning may not happen. Holly went to the doctor yesterday to have her wrist checked out and we find out she has moderately severe carpal tunnel syndrome in her right wrist.

We've already got the race tickets, and the hotel booked, and were waiting for a credit card cycle to get the plane tickets.

Holly's concern is that she'll be on short term disability for the 6 week recovery time, making only 60% of her pay and that will make things tight financially.

I'm not concerned; if we have to cancel the trip, yes, I'll be bummed since the trip is my Christmas present, but my greater concern is for that of my wife and her health. We can always go to Vegas later; we can always re-sell the tickets.

Holly's disappointed that I won't get a present from her if we don't go; I'm still getting her present for her regardless.

The more important thing for me is that we get her wrist corrected; Vegas can wait.

Gobble Gobble

Hello Dear Reader,

I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful and tasty.

First stop on the Turkey Train was my inlaws in Illinois. Jon doesn't do turkey so much, so we had mastacholli for dinner. We had pie and cake after the Packer game was over. We then proceeded to watch Star Trek before the parents headed out.

Three more stops on the Turkey Train. More stories to come.

100 days!!

So, Holly and I have survived one hundred days of being married. :P

Here's what I have learned:

I snore...loudly. I've taken steps to correct that.

I tend to leave my towel somewhere other than it's bar after a shower. I've taken steps to correct that.

I hit the snooze button too many times. I've taken steps to correct that.

I've learned to wipe down the bathroom sink when I'm done using it.

I've learned that Holly tends to sprawl in her sleep.

She also steals the covers sometimes.

I am the slayer of insects, replacer of soap, remover of trash and head of IT in my home. I also make a mean chicken breast.

We've both learned how to hit curveballs. My job changed roles a week after we got home from the honeymoon, Holly's morning part time job closed, then she got full time at Aurora. We've overcome some money issues, and have started watching every penny with Quicken.

I do my best not to be selfish. Holly wasn't feeling well this weekend, so I did the laundry, asking her about her clothes to make sure I didn't destroy them. All turned out well. I also like making her my chicken as it's become one of her comfort foods.

I'm used to wearing my wedding band, and have gotten many compliments on how cool it looks.

Despite being opposite personalities socially, we make it work. Sometimes, I go out solo, and text Holly updates, although I'm still learning to be more diligent about it.

Our wedding was paid off when we paid the September credit card bill.

My wife enjoys buying big gifts for me, like race tickets in Las Vegas the weekend of my birthday.

I can tell when she wants something, like candy, as she'll snuggle up next to me and throw me the puppy dog eyes. Yeah, there's NO WAY for me to not give in.

She has introduced me to new music, and TV show's I'm not used to watching but now enjoy.

She has me eating out less, and eating better at home, and I love her for it.

I've found one of the most satisfying feelings in the world is being next to my wife, with my arm around her, and it's just us...just us.

God has been faithful and because of His part in our lives, we work together. There have been moments of disagreement, followed by anger and some hurt, but after a time, we come back together, give and receive forgiveness and carry on.

I love my wife.

Today was a good day

Today was a good day.

Holly and I had church this morning, and today was Missionfest. We do Missionfest once a year as a way of focusing on those we support both financially and prayerfully who are out in the mission field, whether abroad or at home.

We heard a good sermon on Luke 10:46-52, about how Bartimaeus had his sight restored to him by Jesus, and what he had to do to be there with Jesus.

After church, we skipped out on the potluck and made our way to Miller Park, because Holly surprised me with Brewer's tickets!! We grabbed a couple hot dogs and sodas and settled in for the game. Too bad the Brewers lost, but I was just happy to be there.

After the game, we headed over to Holly's folks for dinner and some catching up. We took the DVDs with our wedding photos with us to show.

We caught a break in the weather, with the heavy rain stopping, to make our way home.

We're both tired from our very full day, but today was a good day. I love Holly so much, and today was a great day to spend together.

I'm enjoying what evenings entail at home: dinner, usually a movie and time with my wife. We're still putting away gifts and acquiring more stuff we need, but for the most part, we've got a nice little groove.

As far as my job, two weeks ago I was re-assigned to the main office from the branch location I was managing, with the job of being the swing man again. Being Swing means that I get to travel to any store where the guy managing (or the sidekick) needs time off. I like the variety and I do well at it; that's why I was brought back to be the Swing. The hard part this time is that I no longer live central to all the stores, but farther west, near the Oconomowoc store I was managing. All that means is that I need to be up sooner to hit Grafton, West Bend or Oak Creek. I get mileage for anything over my normal commute to Brookfield, so it's not too bad. Some nights on the way home, I hit a mess of traffic, like today after the Brewer's game, but I'm thankful that I'm still working right now.

We're still getting used to sleeping next to each other. Both of us wake up in the night and adjust, and I'm sure Beloved wakes up at my snoring, but I think overall, we're doing ok. We take turns cooking and doing the dishes and just enjoy spending time together.

I'm liking this :)

an outside perspective on our wedding

Our friend Diane offered her take on the wedding proceddings.

Thanks Diane :)

Wednesday, honeymoon week

Wednesday

Out the door at 10:30am to head as far north as we could without getting on a boat or leaving Wisconsin. Our destination was the National Shoreline near the Apostle Islands.

The GPS had us taking roads that didn't exist anymore right from the start...when leaving the cabin, we were told to take a left. After driving about, oh, 300 feet, we realized this was no longer a road, but someone's driveway to their cabin. Turn the car around and head back the other way...did I just hear a soft crunching sound? Oh well, off we go.

Once we get going in the right direction, we ended up taking some "roads", if by "roads" you mean there are no trees in the middle of the dirt path, then yes, we were on "roads."

We finally find some pavement again and proceed almost due north. I realized the car felt different and wiggled it a bit side to side. Pull the car over and check the tires. Sure enough, left rear was soft. Proceed down the road at the posted speed limit and slowing down for right hand corners, we finally make it into Mercer, where there appears to be some sort of street festival and a blatant disregard for motor vehicles. Find some fix-a-flat and put that into the tire, then drive a ways up the road to find an air pump to fill the tire the rest of the way.

With that adventure taken care of, we made our way up Highway 51 to Ashland Wisconsin, and stopped for lunch around 1pm, then continued up Highways 2 and 13 to Bayfield where we stopped at the Apostle Islands Visitor's Center to get some info and a map or two. Holly found a cute little lighthouse to give as gift to a family member when we get back. Holly also read a posted notice that one of the islands was re-opened now due to the lack of bear attacks on campers. Tasty.

Back to Highway 13 and north we continued to Red Cliff to find Blueberry Road. Now, the ranger at the Visitor's Center said Blueberry Road was the better option...I humbly disagree. Not that Blueberry Road won't get you to Point Detour, but at some point, the pavement ends and the "road" keeps going.

After travelling about 12 miles or so at 20 miles an hour, we made it to Point Detour. Park the car and make our way down the "stairs". Now, most of the "stairs" were there, but the "landing" halfway down was mostly gone, save for one lone board in the middle. Jumping wasn't an option as you could miss then tumble down into Lake Superior.

Once we made it to the bottom, we found ourselves standing on beautiful red sandstone rocks the size of our car. We could see a couple of the islands not too far offshore, maybe a few miles out. The waves of Superior crashed against the rocks as we walked along the shoreline. We saw a couple of kayakers off the shore headed west.

After monkeying around for a bit, we climbed back up the "stairs" and poked around the campground that was nearby, then headed over to Little Sand Bay. Walking down the pier, we saw that the kayakers had made their way over to the Bay. We took a few more pictures and then got back in the car to start making our way home.

We decied to take the paved route back to Red Cliff, which was much nicer and probably a bit faster then Blueberry Road. Down to Bayfield to snap shots of a couple of beautiful houses, then south to Ashland again.

We made it home about a quarter to 7 in the evening. A very fun day that gave us a few ideas about future getaways :)

Monday and Tuesday of the honeymoon

Monday

After waking up and having breakfast, Holly and I headed back into town to walmart to pick up some odds and ends we missed as well as buy the alcohol we were denied the previous night.

Upon returning to the cabin, I tried to get the pontoon boat started to no avail. I knew I was missing something, but wasn't sure what, so we called Volker and GiGi and left a message on their machine.

We headed to the house where I was given a wonderful back massage by Holly; so good in fact, that I fell asleep shortly after she finished. Holly woke me up a short time later to let me know that Volker was on the phone to tell me how to get the boat started.

We decided to try to find the pizza place in town GiGi recommended in the handy guide they left us, but it appeared to be closed. Oh well, Perkins for the win!

After dinner, we cruised to downtown Minocqua to look at some of the shops and maybe plan out a shopping trip. Most stores close at 7, so we made it into only one before just walking around more to work off the monster slice of peanut butter cup pie we had with dinner.

When we returned home, I managed to get the boat started and we took a pleasure cruise around the lake before it was too cool out to enjoy and too dark to see.

Tuesday

Up and at'em at the crack of 9:30, we headed to town around 11:30 and grabbed smoothies at a coffee shop with wireless so we could check online on a couple things and touch base with everyone.

After that, we headed downtown to shop. We stopped at Gaslight Square to poke around some shops and head upstairs to the antique shop. We walked around, just looking at everything in the antique shop and marveling at how old some of it was and how good most of the things were.

After antiquing, we walked some more, then grabbed lunch at T. Murtaugh's pub. Great cheese curds and everything else as well! I got Holly hooked on that quarter game, you know the one, where you dropped one quarter in and try to knock several quarters out. We played that game for quite a while before heading up the road a bit to some more shops. There, we picked up a pewter dragon for Holly, and some cheese, chocolate and fudge for later.

We came home so we could water the plants and clean out the car. With that accomplished, we took a trip to Lake of the Torches casino to try our hand at the games. There weren't too many card table games, other than blackjack, so we tried a couple of slot machines and then landed at some video poker machines. We only took a $20 in each and left the rest at home so we wouldn't mortgage our future. I had fun, but Holly wasn't really to thrilled by it, other than feeling like we were in a Vegas movie.

Home for dinner on the screen porch, then watched the sunset over the lake before the ballgame. As I write this, we're enjoying some of the chocolate and the peanut butter fudge we picked up today and we'll be watching another movie tonight.

So, I got married...

Let's start with the events of the wedding day itself and move on from there.

I woke up at 7:30, hit snooze once and then headed for a shower and shave. I wasn't feeling up to breakfast, as my stomach was a bit uneasy.

Headed to my friend's house to pick up the getaway car. Curtis has a 1964 Corvair Spyder convertible, with the turbocharged V-6 and 4 speed manual. After a quick lesson in how to handle the top, I was off to the church. I hit a spot of rain and had to pull over quick to put the top up.

I get to the church, park the car under the overhang and head inside to get changed. A couple of my guys are already there and the rest join us soon. Being guys, of course we goofed around and made fun of each other while changing. My groomsman Eric hands me the flask I had given him and told me it was mine for the day. He had filled it with MacGillicuddy's, which left me with minty freshy breath and took the edge off of my nerves.

The guy's pictures were set for 10am, and we were in for a treat. Holly and I hired Valo Photography to do our pictures based on the work Valo had done on our friend Emily's wedding last fall. The guys pictures were taken in the gym at church and we got a chance to have some fun. Simon has a shot of me trying to "run away" with my guys holding me back.

Once the guys were done with pictures, we had lunch. Holly's dad had run to get a couple of Counsin's party subs and believe me, subs have never tasted so good. I managed to have a couple of pieces of sub and some soda to calm my churning stomach.

After lunch, the guys headed upstairs for some air and to keep me away from Holly. Basically, we were killing time until the ceremony.

At 12:30, my best man John, Pastor Kent and myself went behind the sanctuary to wait for the ceremony to begin. I took a sip of my flask and felt my nerves calm down a bit. John prayed with me and Kent joined us. I took a couple of peeks outside to see who was already seated then kept getting pulled back out of sight by John or Kent.

We hear our cue to walk out and take our places at the front of the stage. I felt the desire to wave to everyone, so I did, then said "hi guys." Everyone that knows me said "Hi Chad", and laughed some stress out.

The doors open and the couples start walking in. I started to feel the tears come, but held them back. After all the couples were in, the music faded out, then Holly's walk in music was on. At the right moment, the doors open and there was my bride! As her father led her down the aisle, I started to cry. I wiped my eyes because I wanted to see everything. Coming toward me was my bride and she looked amazing!! Adorned in a gorgeous dress, with her hair just right...just wow.

Pastor Kent starts the ceremony and asks Holly's father who gives this woman. Steve answers, "Her mother and I" through teary eyes. He then brought Holly and my hands together and went to sit next to Holly's mom.

I look at Holly and feel at peace. She was smiling at me as we stood there before the Pastor, our friends and the assembly.

As the ceremony progressed, I kept looking at Holly and she at me. We asked Pastor Kent to teach out of the Song of Solomon, which is a great book from the Old Testament of the Bible, giving him a chance to do something he hadn't taught on before.

We asked our friend Nick to play the song for the lighting of the unity candle. At my request, he played "When you Say Nothing at All" which Holly and I found sweetly ironic, given my pechant for talking.

We added the element of communion to our wedding as our faith in Christ is very important, and Pastor Kent was more than willing to lead us in that element. As we stood together after the candle lighting and communion, we sang the last verse of "When You Say Nothing At All" to each other.

I kissed my bride, lovingly and with intent. We turned to face our guests, grinning like fools. The pastor pronounced us Husband and Wife, and we walked out to "It's the End of the World as We Know It" by R.E.M. and danced our way up the aisle. I couldn't contain myself and let out a whoop as we neared the doors to the foyer.

One by one, our couples came out and then we went back in to dismiss our guests. We started on Holly's side with her parents, then to my side to greet my parents. We wanted to dismiss our guests so we could thank each one of them for coming, so we had the bridal party guiding guests downstairs for cake.

It was simply awesome to see so many of our friends come to see us be married. Old friends from growing up, work friends, and current friends. Both Holly and I enjoyed seeing everyone and having a chance to see them all at least once, since we knew it would be difficult to see everyone once we were downstairs for cake and punch.

Once downstairs, we cut the cake. Holly and I each took a forkful to feed each other with, only Holly took a bite of her own cake, leaving me hanging. She smirked at me, then took another forkful and fed me as I her. The cake was then wheeled away to be cut, and the sheet cakes were wheeled in to be eaten. Holly and I set the guests on the cake and then sat for a bit, since we had been standing for a while.

Everyone was getting cake and punch and chatting, people were stopping by to congratulated us. We got some cake and punch and started to take it all in. Here we were, surrounded by loved ones, married, MARRIED!

Around 3, we headed back upstairs for the rest of the pictures. We took pictures with my grandparents first, as they were a bit tired. Once those were taken, we did the usual pictures with the family and bridal party and whatnot.

Once pictures at the church were done, Holly and I planned to take some pictures at the lakefront by the art museum, since that's where we met. We hopped in the car, left the church with the top down on the car, just for the fun of it, then stopped to put the top up so as not to muss Holly's hair.

We arrived at the lakefront to find six other weddings already there for pictures. We changed locations to the small park where Wisconsin Ave turns north, right in front of the art museum. Simon and Jake, the photographers, were having a blast setting up shots and directing us and taking the perfect pictures. We crossed the street and took a shot where Holly and I are on the street with the downtown skyline and the sun behind us.

We moved over in front of the art museum for some more shots, then down to Discovery World for some more fun. Jake made the comment that Holly and I were alot of fun to work with and that they were having fun.

After Discovery World, we headed out to the dinner reception for some final pictures, then food. Once again, surrounded by family, we got to enjoy some excellent food and conversation. We spent a couple hours chatting with friends and thanking them for being part of our special day.

After dinner, we had to take our getaway car back to Curtis. We picked up our car and headed to the Pfister for our first night together. We valet'd the car and a bellman took our bags up to our room. We felt so rich!!! Once in the room, I helped Holly out of her dress so she could shower and change. I needed a bit of normalcy, so I found the Brewer game on TV while I was waiting. Once Holly emerged from the bathroom we retired for the evening...hint hint ;)

We awoke in the morning ready for breakfast. Part of the package we had was a credit to the cafe for breakfast, so we took advantage of it. Holly had a ham and cheese omelet, and I had the biscuits and gravy. We left the cafe feeling quite full.

After packing our things and checking out, we headed to Holly's parent's house to pick up clothes for her for the week, and to say goodbye to Jon and Katie, and Moira. After they left we did some check endorsing and got the car loaded with Holly's things.

We headed to the bank to night drop the checks, only to find there's no night drop slot. We basically had to start over and put the check into ATM envelopes for the deposit....what a pain in the butt!!

We stopped by OUR apartment to grab a couple of small things, like the wine flutes we were given, so we could enjoy the wine someone else gave us. From there, we departed for our destination. The drive was nice: I had the Brewer game on the radio while Holly napped. We stopped for gas and Holly picked up some cheese to snack on for the final leg of the journey.

Once in Minocqua, we found the Walmart and picked up some breakfast and lunch stuff, as well as snacks. We ended up in line behind a lady who seemed to be stockpiling supplies for a kindergarten room. $375 later, she was done, but it was now after 9pm, so we couldn't buy they alcohol we had in the cart, despite being in line 20 minutes...Oh Well.

We got to the cabin about 9:30 and found the key and let ourselves in to find two more cards on the kitchen island, as well as a bottle of champagne and a tourists guide of restaurants in the area. Thanks to Volker and GiGi, and Ziggy and Sandy for that!!!

We unloaded the car, put away the groceries and then sat down in seats that didn't move. Put in a movie and vegged out. About 11:30, I woke Holly up and suggested we move to a bed so we could sleep properly that night.

The most awesome thing for me so far is that I get to sleep next to the woman I love at night, with her next to me, and wake up seeing each other in the morning.

This and that...

Wedding preparation moves forward. New apartment is moved into and stuff is being sorted according to usage. What gets used stays upstairs, what doesn't gets banished to the basement.

I'm not all that nervous, at least not yet. Anxious would be a better way to describe what I feel. I'm looking forward to The Day, but I'm also want to make sure I'm preparing myself for the days after that, to be a good husband for my wife. Huh, my wife....that sounds funny to say...I like it....

I don't post here as much as I would perhaps like to, but I tend to get tied up on my other blog and also now with podcasting. I try to keep the more positive stuff here and save the politics for the other blog, and I've been occupied with political happenings.

I'll try to post some more here for ya ;)

busy busy busy

Psssst!


down here!!


yeah, I'm still here, but I've been letting my political side run free for a little while, so here's an update.

Wedding plans are coming along, at least as far as I know. 46 days and counting!

Canada was fun! Beloved and I drove up to Winnipeg to a friend's wedding and to meet one of our bridesmaids. Yes, you read that right...we had a bridesmaid in our wedding who we had never met face to face. Now we have. Calm down.

Work seems to be picking up a little. Orders are still on the smallish side, but volume is up, that is, more foot traffic in the door. Hopefully the orders will follow.

I'm moved. If you want my new address, you have some method of contacting me. Use it.

My new place is huge....especially compared to my last place. Two bedrooms AND a den...very nice.

That's about it...carry on.

growing older

Something I've realized is that I'm not as young as I used to be, and my metabolism has slowed down. I used to be able to eat just about anything and not worry about gaining weight, but now, not so much.

I moved to Milwaukee weighing 160 pounds. Three months later, I was at 175. Now I'm at 205. I supposed 45 pounds in ten years isn't bad, but I'm starting to feel the difference.

In addition to the extra weight, I'm having shortness of breath for no good reason. Simple tasks at work kick my butt.

I've decided to take care of it. My friend Eric recommended two programs for me: 100 push ups and 200 sit ups.

Basically, you do a test run of push ups and sit ups, as many as you can do in one sitting, then you use the chart to start your workout regimen. I started tonight and plan to do Sundays, Tuesday, and Thursday before bed.

I want to lose weight overall, increase my stamina and just feel better overall. Wish me luck :)

a tragic loss

This morning I confirmed a hunch I had yesterday.

I open the paper and found this article.

I coached Zach last year in basketball, and Karl would often help me even though he wasn't my assistant.

I also knew Luke, the younger son. Fun kid, precocious and always had a smile on his face.

Right now I'm dealing with that feeling of loss and grief, even though I wasn't all the close to the family, I still knew them.

Please join me in praying for this family as they grieve the loss of a father, a son and a friend and the recovery ahead for Denise, Zach and Amber.

See You at the Show

Saturday night, Holly and I had tickets to go see Nickelback at the Bradley Center. We both enjoy their music and always have a good time at the show.

We went to dinner before hand at Chili's and Holly could hardly contain her excitement. Dinner was quick and we were on our way to the BC.

Parked next to MATC in the surface lot, then headed to the BC with tickets in hand. Got inside about 6:30 or so and headed to our seats before hitting the bathroom before the show started.

Saving Abel was on first...not bad. I only knew one song, but that never stops me from enjoying a band I don't know. Holly looked around before they dropped the lights and commented to me how empty the arena looked. I replied that she should take a look after Saving Abel was done. With that, the house lights dropped and Saving Abel was on.

After Saving Abel, the roadies came out and set the stage for Seether. Seether I'm much more familiar with as they are a little more established, and they didn't disappoint. They played their new single "Fake It", as well as "Broken", and altogether put up a nice set.

After Seether, more roadies. Holly had went to powder her nose, so I sat with our stuff and people watched, one of my favorite activities. Quite a few good looking ladies, and of course I was with the best looking one ;)

Although...there was....I think a bear that had been shaved. This chick was in her late 40s or early 50s, around 300 pounds, whiter than Casper....and she was wearing black thigh high leather boots and a sheer red nightie, with other red fabric covering her in strategic places. What. The. Hell? I saw her make her way up the stairs from the section below us on the arm of a guy who I assume was her husband/boyfriend/handler/parole agent. As she got up to the lane to head out the concourse, a group of people re-entered the arena and looked at her and expressed a bit of shocked and/or disgust.

Holly made her way back to our seats and I told her about the "woman", and we both began waiting anxiously. Sure enough....her "she" came. Holly's jaw dropped, and a few of us in the area we were seated began to do a running commentary are "her" choice of clothes. I thought maybe it was laundry day, and all she had left was the sheer red nightie. Others though "she" was just plain out of her mind. Then, thankfully, the house lights went out and Nickelback was on!!

Lots of Pyro and Video. Lots of guitars....overall great show. Chad Krueger could have talked a little less and rocked a little more, but they managed to get quite a few songs in over 2 hours.

Here's some pics from my iPhone.

they say it's your birthday...

Friday was my 33rd birthday. I bought doughnuts to take into work for my customers. I really didn't have any plans for anything special, so Holly and I decided to head to the autoshow and look at cars we can't afford.

Got quite a few pictures which I will post at a later date.

I've felt out of sorts since Friday....just not all together. Not sure why.

Saturday was alot of fun. Holly and I had lunch with friends that she hadn't seen in some time, then we headed off to my basketball game that was at 3:30. My guys played a great game and we won.

Hollly and I headed back to my place to rest for a bit, then off to Bed Bath and Beyond to look at home decor stuff and wedding registry ideas, then off to dinner at Applebee's.

Sunday brought church, then a client call, then basketball practice. I bought pizza for my guys since they've played so hard for me this year and to celebrate my birthday.

On to home to watch my race, which is just about done...then just winding down until bedtime, then back into the week.

the wait is over.

I have my iPhone.

The number porting process took about 24 hours over all, but all of my stuff is AT&T now.

Holly and I headed to the Apple Store at Mayfair for my 10:30 appointment. When we got there, I stepped up to the Genius Bar and waited for the next available Genius. My Genius' name was Ernie and he took care of me. I went with the 8 gig iPhone, and picked up a pack of screen skins and a car charge with a radio adapter. Ernie went through the process of moving my phone number over from Sprint over to AT&T.

When I had paid for everything, Ernie gave me a quick primer on the features of my iPhone. After that, Holly and I headed back to her house, where I plugged my iPhone into my Powerbook to charge it and also add the apps I had already downloaded in preparation of getting my iPhone.

Holly picked up my phone and started playing with it...when she was done she handed back to me. I go to unlock it and find out she had put a lock on my phone...

I was less than amused.

I made one attempt to unlock my phone, then shot her a look that let her know she needed to fix the problem she had created, which she did.

All day long, Holly kept calling me, only to get the voicemail I had left on my old Sprint phone. Finally, after church today, she tried and my iPhone rang :)

My number is still the same, so give me a call :P

books

When I was a kid, I used to consume books. I would read read read and then read some more, just because I loved it. I can't recall when that stopped for me, but it did.

I started reading for information more than pleasure, and once I got hooked on the internet, books were a thing of the past.

I found myself reading online, staring at a monitor, scrolling down news articles, then closing the tab and looking for my next information fix.

I was talking about this with Holly, and she strongly encouraged me to read for fun again. As luck would have it, she has all the Harry Potter books, and I had been wanting to read them.

Well, I'm now took books down and well into the third. My goal is to have all seven knocked out before the next movie hits theaters this summer.

4 years

Holly and I celebrated 4 years together this past Friday night. We had made plans to go to Friday's at the Ballpark for dinner and then attend a going away party for a friend after that.

As I was wrapping up my day at work, I was thinking about what to get Holly as a gift. Before Christmas she had mentioned she wouldn't mind an iPod, so on my way home from work, I stopped at Best Buy and bought her a 120 gigabyte iPod classic in silver. I them placed said iPod in my glovebox for later giving.

Get home, freshen up, head over to Holly's to pick her up for dinner. As we make our way up 43rd street through West Milwaukee, I ask her to fetch something for my out of my glovebox. She opens the glovebox and I tell her it's right on top, since there's no light in the glovebox. She pulls the iPod out and I ask her to "unwrap it", as it was still in the bag from the store. She removes the bag and sees she's got an iPod and is slightly stunned by it all.

We park at Friday's and head inside to get a table. There's a bit of a wait, so we get an electric coaster and head to the waiting area to sit while we wait for a table. Holly asks me if I'd like my gift now, or during dinner. Now works. She turns to open her purse and says "I wasn't sure which you wanted, so I hope this helps."

Huh?

She hands me a 4" square card with an iPhone on the front. Still not putting 2 and 2 together, I open the card. Inside is a gift card for roughly half the price of an 8 gig iPhone...

I am stunned...I had no idea she was getting me half an iPhone.

Dinner was great as was the company we met up with afterward.

I have the most amazing woman in the world, an in about 6 months, she'll be my wife.

end of the week

Interesting day today.

Work actually went by pretty quick, especially for a Friday. With everything slowing down lately, I tend to have gaps of a couple hours between customers and sometimes even phone calls.

The fun began around 3:30pm. Customer comes in to pick up an order and we start talking shop and what not. Then another guy showed up a few minutes later, followed by guys 3 & 4.

Guy 2 was in and out. Guy 1 worked with guy 3, so they were talking about work stuff while I took care of guy 4.

Guy 4 heads out and I start taking care of Guy 3, who has a couple of lists. Get him taken care of, staying over about 40 minutes by the time I pulled his orders and did my end of day stuff. I don't mind actually...Holly has a girls' night and I've got nothing on my agenda.

On the way home, get my oil changed, then get home. Lemon pepper chicken and broccoli for dinner. Listen to the Bucks game while I work on my file server, then I pop in Iron Man.

A little Bailey's to cap off the night and just relaxin'.

grace vs. tolerance

I've been thinking alot lately about the difference between grace and tolerance.

To tolerate someone, to me at least, sound like you are "putting up with them," as though you merely deal with someone (or the trait the bugs you) as a nuisance.

Tolerant adv 1: inclined to tolerate ; especially : marked by forbearance or endurance <tolerant parents> tolerant of religious differences>2: exhibiting tolerance (as for a drug or an environmental factor)

Grace, on the other hand, is not merely "putting up with someone" but loving someone in spite of them self, just as God loves us.

Grace noun 1 a: unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification b: a virtue coming from God c: a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine grace 2 a: approval , favor graces> barchaic : mercy , pardon c: a special favor : privilege grace, shall rule his heritage — Rudyard Kipling> d: disposition to or an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency e: a temporary exemption : reprieve


Unmerited, that's how grace is given, for no other reason to BE GIVEN.

Certain humanist groups feels they should be tolerated by those who disagree with them...they demand merit.

We, who have no merit, are given grace by the One who loves us. Tolerance is a cheap imitation of grace and will never take the place of grace.