Hi, Dizzy!

Ever since I returned from deployment, Becca has been bugging me to start this blog thing back up again. I don't know why she wants me to, because everything I write on here she already knows about...and she gets to experience my humor on a day to day basis. The Champion wants me to start it up again, too, but that's just because I think she likes to compete with me Jayme's Blog. And I know Dad reads this, because he's been asking me for the last year when I was going to write more. There's a comments section for a reason, so maybe you three can convince me. Please, begin...

Support Your Local Redleg

The Cincinnati Reds are not good. They have not been good for some time now. As a lifelong Reds fan, this is disappointing. For the last couple years, they have been an offensive powerhouse (playing in a homer-friendly ballpark doesn't hurt), but each year they trade away some huge part of the offense (see Hamilton, Josh...and there's still a soft spot for Sean Casey). Oh, and (except for Edinson Volquez and the occasional Adam Harang), the pitching is perennially horrifying. This year, instead of the one-or-the-other trade debate on whether Kenneth or Adam Dunn should be treaded...hey, let's do both...and get nothing in return. The roster is now full of relative no names. Bring back this guy...
Maybe I can revive the Oakwood Tournament Team. We'd have no problem. Dip.

I hate you Reds.

But I love you so much.

Let's ride this thing...

I'm not very good at updating this thing, so while I'm on a roll, I'll keep going.

Cort was in town this last weekend, so we decided to use that as an excuse to cook out and drink. Liz, Jeff, Cort, and the Nards came. "Replacement" Scott brought his dog Dodger instead of his wife (who was eating Ben and Jerry's in Hippieville, Vermont). And the Bizzles brought Abigail. It was an interesting night to say the least.

Liz practiced being an aunt...

We tried out the new Cornhole court...

Scott was a ringer as always...

Brian was (not the only one) drunk...

I acted like a moron for the camera...

And Cort and Bear formed the most unlikely of beer pong teams...

All in all, it was a fun night. We're throwing a housewarming party this weekend, because we're getting close enough to having the young man that I probably should not be in an altered state. You know, just in case.

Holla atcha boy.

Triangle of Death

One of the great things about our house is the proximity to some of our favorite food places. We are less than a mile from an In-N-Out, which I drive by twice a day on the way to work. That, alone, is death. We are also equidistant (mmm...yes) from two Chipotles, which both are just under two miles from our humble abode. To keep Preggers happy, we are two miles from Pita Pit, which appeals to her because it reminds her of The Champion and the simpler times at Miami...and it's pretty good. While all of this is awesome for my taste buds...it sucks for my love handles.

Speaking of the house...I spent all day today tearing up the yard in front of the porch (after spending all Sunday clearing out the multitude of crap that's been in the backyard for the last couple years). That was fun. Or not. Normally I watch TV and sleep on days I get off. I was finally done digging just before sunset, so we ran over to Le Home Depot to buy stuff to throw in to the holes. We bought three Hardy White Oleanders and four reddish Asiatic Lillies (I think Asiatic...I know at least they're some kind of lily). It was dark by the time I had them planted in, so I'll have to wait for the morning to see appreciate my landscaping abilities. Somehow I pulled tomorrow off, so there will be more work done around the house. The only good thing about today's work was that I had two pregnant ladies (Becca and Lindsey) sitting on the porch, talking about babies...and how awesome I am. I think they contributed about twenty minutes of work (pumping my ego isn't work). I guess they're doing more important things. Like growing human beings.

Speaking of human beings (I'm all about the segues tonight)...Becca is huge. There was a new approach to Belly Picture Monday this week...

Bear actually looked in to the camera because he thought he was going to the beach. Gets him every time.

We're within a month now.

"Clear right, sir"

I just thought I'd give a shout out to Daniel-san for his appearance (p. 25) in the Naval Safety Center's Approach magazine for the engine failure he experienced a couple months ago in Pensacola. The worst part of it was that he wasn't even at the controls, he was sitting in the back seat. I want to know whether the "clear right" call came before or after the "holy sh*t I'm going to die" cry that I would've been making. I personally love reading Approach, along with All Hands, Naval Aviation, whatever of those magazines are laying around the squadron, but I never know anyone in there. So, not only did I get to read about one of my BFFs' heroic performance in CRM (i.e. teamwork), I also got in some professional reading (and a good laugh). Two birds with one stone.

Bear vs. Skunk

One of Becca's favorite features of the new house is the fact that the backyard has two orange trees. Much to our surprise, we were told by our neighbor that there is an orange-burglar that preys on our innocent fruits. Yes, we have our own skunk. Becca immediately googlified how to catch/deter/kill/befriend the little critter. She came up with using traps, bright lights, etc., to get rid of the skunk. I have a better plan (and one again you'll see that we're losers)...

The whole plan depends on Bear's wits and cunning, and some powdered sugar. We will turn Bear in to a skunk, using the powdered sugar for his stripes, and he will infiltrate the neighborhood skunk gang. Who would be able to tell the difference between the average 10 pound skunk and our 160 pound powdered-sugar-skunk? Exactly. No one. There's a reason we've nicknamed him the The Big Tuna. He'll fit right in.

But, if the recognize that he's not a true skunk, who would win the battle royale? Bear or a skunk? Sorry....The Bear or a skunk?

That's what I thought.

Long time no blog

So we've been kind of busy for the last two weeks with moving in to the new house and all that. Plus I have that whole flying job thing, too....and we've haven't had the internets for a little over week.

So, yes, we're officially in the new house. Most of the big stuff is set up, but we still need to unpack all the random boxes. We're still waiting for our new furniture for the living room. So right now we're cramming both our asses in to the throne (chair and a half).

I spent all last week painting just about every room in the house. It sucked. I started having hallucinations of Bear walking upright and talking like a human by the third day. Needless to say, I don't want to paint again for awhile. Saturday was spent moving all the big stuff from Coronado to here with "Replacement" Scott. Oh, and here's the highlight...we mounted the plasma on the wall on top of the fireplace. It's so money you don't even know. I'm going to wait to send moved in pictures until we get all the furniture and everything put away, but here are some pictures of the house before we moved in (some still have the previous owner's stuff in them)...

Living room:

Dining room:

Kitchen:

Guest bedroom:

Guest bathroom:

Nursery:

Master bedroom:

Master bathroom:

Front:

Back:


The house was originally a 2 bed/1 bath Craftsman style, built in 1954. In 2003, the Finlanders that lived here put on a master suite, with includes a room that we've made the nursery. You can see the wood paneling, which we're debating whether to paint or not. I know it looks really cabin-y, for a lack of a better description, but it's not that bad in person. A lot of old features, some of which are endearing...others which need to be updated. Most notably to update is the exterior color. It's just too dark. It's not a priority right now, frankly, because I don't want to touch a painting utensil for a while, but mainly because of the cost. I trimmed the trumpet vine on the trellis earlier tonight and we'll probably lighten up the window trim and paint the door some shade of red as a temporary fix. Maybe add some bushes/flowers in front of the porch type thing in front. Oh yeah and those Finlanders added a sauna...

(wtf)