2010 is not ending nearly as well as I had hoped. After almost 3 and a half years with Walgreens I found myself without employment about three weeks ago. It was not expected, but it is potentially a good thing as I was spinning my wheels there. I enjoyed my work and my customers liked me and I performed well in the areas they seemed to focus on, but the economy hit the company hard and the advancement I anticipated when I first started there never happened, so if this is what it takes to get me into a better job, then this is what it takes.
In the meantime, to try to bring in SOME income, I have started delivering a once-a-week newspaper called "Just Busted." Just Busted takes the mug shots from about 10 North Georgia counties and publishes them along with the names of the accused and the crimes with which they were charged. It does not pay a lot, but it is income and I am responsible only to myself for my work. There is potential to grow the business, but it will take some work as there is another distributor in my area and a lot of retailers do not want to try it even though there is no risk for them, purely profit potential as they only pay for the copies that are not returned, and they keep 45 cents for each copy sold, so if they can sell 11 copies a week, they will earn $250 in pure profit without making any investment other than some counter space.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
DVD Time
This weekend we hit the RedBox for two movies. They recently installed one at a Shell gas station within 2 miles of the house which is very convenient as it is outside and available 24/7.
We watched Julie & Julia last night. It's good. Meryl Streep could certainly be up for an award or two for her portrayal of Julia Child. It is a new take on the bio-pic as it blends Child's life in France through her death with the real-life experiences of a want-to-be writer in early 2000's NYC. Amy Adams plays the Julie who is trying to prepare every Child's recipe within 1 year and blogged about it and grew quite a following. Amy said she sees Amy Adams becoming the new Meg Ryan, and with her cuteness and diversity in roles, I could see this. It helps that Nora Ephron (You've Got Mail) was behind this film.
Tonight I (note the singular) watched Inglorious Bastards. All I can really say it is not what I expected. I like Quentin Tarentino's films so I was hopeful, but it was a bit hard to follow due to the speed with which subtitles were displayed and removed. Also, I expected more Brad Pitt and his guys running around killing people as that's what the trailor indicated the movie was about. The saving grace (though limited) was the casting of Diane Kruger who I became infatuated with in the National Treasure movies. Would I own it? No. Would I watch it again if I happened across it on TV, probably.
We watched Julie & Julia last night. It's good. Meryl Streep could certainly be up for an award or two for her portrayal of Julia Child. It is a new take on the bio-pic as it blends Child's life in France through her death with the real-life experiences of a want-to-be writer in early 2000's NYC. Amy Adams plays the Julie who is trying to prepare every Child's recipe within 1 year and blogged about it and grew quite a following. Amy said she sees Amy Adams becoming the new Meg Ryan, and with her cuteness and diversity in roles, I could see this. It helps that Nora Ephron (You've Got Mail) was behind this film.
Tonight I (note the singular) watched Inglorious Bastards. All I can really say it is not what I expected. I like Quentin Tarentino's films so I was hopeful, but it was a bit hard to follow due to the speed with which subtitles were displayed and removed. Also, I expected more Brad Pitt and his guys running around killing people as that's what the trailor indicated the movie was about. The saving grace (though limited) was the casting of Diane Kruger who I became infatuated with in the National Treasure movies. Would I own it? No. Would I watch it again if I happened across it on TV, probably.
Friday, January 08, 2010
Snow Atlanta Style
We got about 1/2 of one inch of snow here in Kennesaw. This is typical of Atlanta-area snow. We do have closings of most every metro school system. In our neighborhood we have a lot of hills and my brother told me that when he got home last night (around 10pm) the kids were out sledding. This had some merit because the snow will not last. We won't get above freezing today, but there is some melting happening.
Amy worked last night and has to work again today so we'll see how she does getting out of the neighborhood to get to work tonight. We have a new friend in the neighborhood, this funny-faced stray-looking black cat has been coming up the sidewalk to visit our house. He/she won't come close enough to be pet, and we've seen it across the street seeking shelter in the storm drain. This morning we awoke to 16 degrees with a high of 29 so I hope he has somewhere warm he can go.
Amy worked last night and has to work again today so we'll see how she does getting out of the neighborhood to get to work tonight. We have a new friend in the neighborhood, this funny-faced stray-looking black cat has been coming up the sidewalk to visit our house. He/she won't come close enough to be pet, and we've seen it across the street seeking shelter in the storm drain. This morning we awoke to 16 degrees with a high of 29 so I hope he has somewhere warm he can go.
Saturday, January 02, 2010
Friday, January 01, 2010
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Five Months Later
Well, I can't say as I intended to take a 5 month leave of absence from the old blog here. I have just not been inspired to write much and have been using Facebook and Twitter instead of writing posting anything here. I think I'm going to try to make a bit of a balance between the two for a bit.
Today was a special day for me as a Daddy. Back in March my wife Amy and I traveled to China and adopted a baby girl (one year old) who was born with clubbed feet (they were literally turned backwards when she was born). During her first year of life she was taken in by an American-run foster home called Swallows Nest in Zhaungzhou, Henan Province, China. They saw her through surgery and corrective casting to fix her feet. She wears a brace at night to keep her feet from turning, and she gets therapy every 2 weeks from Cobb County, GA. She had therapy today and though we've seen her walk a few steps and then fall to her knees, we were amazed to see this...
Today was a special day for me as a Daddy. Back in March my wife Amy and I traveled to China and adopted a baby girl (one year old) who was born with clubbed feet (they were literally turned backwards when she was born). During her first year of life she was taken in by an American-run foster home called Swallows Nest in Zhaungzhou, Henan Province, China. They saw her through surgery and corrective casting to fix her feet. She wears a brace at night to keep her feet from turning, and she gets therapy every 2 weeks from Cobb County, GA. She had therapy today and though we've seen her walk a few steps and then fall to her knees, we were amazed to see this...
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Reunion
I guess that since I attended my 20th Anniversary High School Reunion last night, I am officially getting old. I still have a year and a half before I hit 40, but it is beginning to catch up with me. Here are some pictures of my fellow aging friends.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Saturday Photo Hunt - Flags
Atop Lookout Mountain, Tennessee at Rock City. You can see 7 states from this vantage point; GA, TN, AL, SC, NC, VA and KY.
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Saturday Photo Hunt - Advertisement
I love these paintings on old brik stores. These are in Acworth, GA.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Food
Wow! It has been a long time since I have had anything to say (or at least write). Food is the topic of the day. Amy and I have started watching some of the non-cooking programming on the Food Network like Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, and Unwrapped. Last night it was a show on hamburgers that included a Fuddruckers offering for about $250 that comes out as about 30 pounds of a single sandwich. You have to slice it like a cake, disgusting in an awesome way!
Today it was Guy Fiore doing a pair of shows on Barbecue. This is a very touchy subject because it is a very regional item. The regional nature is a major part of why Darden restaurants did not really succeed with a chain of BBQ Sports bars called Smokey Bones. The first show was specifically on Memphis BBQ. Memphis is pretty much accepted to be the home of BBQ, yet we were surprised that they featured 4 or 5 restaurants and did not mention Rendezvous or Interstate. We have heard of Rendezvous more than any other in Memphis. For the benefit of Jeff, who lives there, I will mention the restaurants they featured and see if he has any input on them... Leonard's (where they serve the sandwich with coleslaw ON the sandwich), Tom's (where they work fast and you order by picking a particular bag from a pile, and they serve a bologna-BBQ sandwich with dry rub the kicker here is the original owner was Greek and the dry rub is a Greek/Mediterranean spice blend), Marlowe's (which is near Graceland and started as an Italian restaurant and then became more BBQ, but they serve pasta as a side with their BBQ), and Cozy Corner (which features BBQ Cornish Hens).
Lunch today.
We returned to a local restaurant today that we've visited in the past, but we did not know that the ownership changed about 2 years ago. It is a family-run Italian joint called Bergamo (www.bergamopizza.com) . This was a FANTASTIC lunch. We went in and ordered a kid's meal for LynnMarie while we looked over the menu. LM got a chicken finger and fries meal, but they altered the meat to a nugget form as all the food is prepped to order the chicken was cut , breaded and fried specifically for our baby.
I went simple, ordering a calzone, the Bergamo, which came with pepperoni, ham, mushrooms, sausage and green pepper. I subbed out onions for the green pepper and it came with a home made marinara. All the sauces are made from scratch here. Amy ordered tortellini but on the waitress' recommendation they subbed the marinara sauce for a Gorgonzola cream sauce. It rocked! We got a Greek salad to share and discovered our baby does NOT like feta cheese, and they served the meal with their fresh-baked foccacia bread, which they topped with olive oil and Parmesan cheese, yummy!
We will definitely be returning to Bergamo and will take any out of town guests there to sample what we enjoyed.
Last Night
We joined some friends for a new experience last night, Korean BBQ. The wife in this couple is half Korean and they like this kind of food a lot. It is a different experience as all the meats are cooked at/in your table. They bring over a fire/heat source which fits into the center of the table, lay a grill over top of it and entree by entree they cook the meats. We had chicken, pork, beef, and squid. A large assortment of side dishes filled the table along with a rice cake soup. The extras included white rice, leaf lettuce, sheets of rice cake, two kinds of kim shi and a variety of greens, sprouts and similar add-ons. The eating is one by making wraps of the meat and extras on the lettuce or on the sliced sheets of rice cake. It was tasty, but expensive. We had a good time and certainly enjoyed the company, but it is not likely to be something to eat again, dinner for 4 adults and three kids under 3 was right at $100. Ouch. For that much we'll go to a Brazilian BBQ and fill our guts with yummy meats.
Today it was Guy Fiore doing a pair of shows on Barbecue. This is a very touchy subject because it is a very regional item. The regional nature is a major part of why Darden restaurants did not really succeed with a chain of BBQ Sports bars called Smokey Bones. The first show was specifically on Memphis BBQ. Memphis is pretty much accepted to be the home of BBQ, yet we were surprised that they featured 4 or 5 restaurants and did not mention Rendezvous or Interstate. We have heard of Rendezvous more than any other in Memphis. For the benefit of Jeff, who lives there, I will mention the restaurants they featured and see if he has any input on them... Leonard's (where they serve the sandwich with coleslaw ON the sandwich), Tom's (where they work fast and you order by picking a particular bag from a pile, and they serve a bologna-BBQ sandwich with dry rub the kicker here is the original owner was Greek and the dry rub is a Greek/Mediterranean spice blend), Marlowe's (which is near Graceland and started as an Italian restaurant and then became more BBQ, but they serve pasta as a side with their BBQ), and Cozy Corner (which features BBQ Cornish Hens).
Lunch today.
We returned to a local restaurant today that we've visited in the past, but we did not know that the ownership changed about 2 years ago. It is a family-run Italian joint called Bergamo (www.bergamopizza.com) . This was a FANTASTIC lunch. We went in and ordered a kid's meal for LynnMarie while we looked over the menu. LM got a chicken finger and fries meal, but they altered the meat to a nugget form as all the food is prepped to order the chicken was cut , breaded and fried specifically for our baby.
I went simple, ordering a calzone, the Bergamo, which came with pepperoni, ham, mushrooms, sausage and green pepper. I subbed out onions for the green pepper and it came with a home made marinara. All the sauces are made from scratch here. Amy ordered tortellini but on the waitress' recommendation they subbed the marinara sauce for a Gorgonzola cream sauce. It rocked! We got a Greek salad to share and discovered our baby does NOT like feta cheese, and they served the meal with their fresh-baked foccacia bread, which they topped with olive oil and Parmesan cheese, yummy!
We will definitely be returning to Bergamo and will take any out of town guests there to sample what we enjoyed.
Last Night
We joined some friends for a new experience last night, Korean BBQ. The wife in this couple is half Korean and they like this kind of food a lot. It is a different experience as all the meats are cooked at/in your table. They bring over a fire/heat source which fits into the center of the table, lay a grill over top of it and entree by entree they cook the meats. We had chicken, pork, beef, and squid. A large assortment of side dishes filled the table along with a rice cake soup. The extras included white rice, leaf lettuce, sheets of rice cake, two kinds of kim shi and a variety of greens, sprouts and similar add-ons. The eating is one by making wraps of the meat and extras on the lettuce or on the sliced sheets of rice cake. It was tasty, but expensive. We had a good time and certainly enjoyed the company, but it is not likely to be something to eat again, dinner for 4 adults and three kids under 3 was right at $100. Ouch. For that much we'll go to a Brazilian BBQ and fill our guts with yummy meats.
Monday, May 04, 2009
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
BJ's Wholesale Club
I'd never been inside a BJ's club before this afternoon. Amy and I are looking for cost-cutting tools and we used to be members of Sam's Club, but it expired a few months back. So we got a mailer offering a free 60 day membership to BJ's which is also about 8 miles closer to us than the nearest Sam's. This BJ's is about 4 miles from the house, next to our SuperTarget and it has gas.
I looked at the membership offerings online, and got a better offer when I got there. Instead of the $45 annual fee, they charged us $30 and they tacked the 60 days free on to the new membership giving us 14 months for $30. Pretty good I thought as Sam's was $35 for 12 months last I looked, maybe higher now.
We were given the monthly coupon book and a new member coupon book and we went a browsing. Our goal was to check pricing and see what the place would hold. We took advantage of several offers including a free bag of bananas (3lb), and a free 37oz box of Cheerios for buying a 228 ct box of Pampers that is the same as the one Tante Toma got LynnMarie as a shower gift.
We also picked up some cheese (shredded and block) which got us free Ritz crackers, my shampoo with a coupon, some condiments, some Weight Watchers deserts with a coupon, cat litter, and the baby-feeding bonus, a gallon of milk for $1.99! On the way out we filled the Honda at $1.84 a gallon, which saved us over a dollar on the tank compared to the regular gas stations.
On the way home we got 6 beautiful Florida tomatos from the roadside stand for $5 and picked up the newspaper on the way home. Now we're relaxing. Baby is taking a nap, the Phillies finished a sweep of the NL East leading Marlins and life is good except for Jeff Gordon getting 56 laps back by the halfway point at Talladega today.
I looked at the membership offerings online, and got a better offer when I got there. Instead of the $45 annual fee, they charged us $30 and they tacked the 60 days free on to the new membership giving us 14 months for $30. Pretty good I thought as Sam's was $35 for 12 months last I looked, maybe higher now.
We were given the monthly coupon book and a new member coupon book and we went a browsing. Our goal was to check pricing and see what the place would hold. We took advantage of several offers including a free bag of bananas (3lb), and a free 37oz box of Cheerios for buying a 228 ct box of Pampers that is the same as the one Tante Toma got LynnMarie as a shower gift.
We also picked up some cheese (shredded and block) which got us free Ritz crackers, my shampoo with a coupon, some condiments, some Weight Watchers deserts with a coupon, cat litter, and the baby-feeding bonus, a gallon of milk for $1.99! On the way out we filled the Honda at $1.84 a gallon, which saved us over a dollar on the tank compared to the regular gas stations.
On the way home we got 6 beautiful Florida tomatos from the roadside stand for $5 and picked up the newspaper on the way home. Now we're relaxing. Baby is taking a nap, the Phillies finished a sweep of the NL East leading Marlins and life is good except for Jeff Gordon getting 56 laps back by the halfway point at Talladega today.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Tuesday TV
Most Tuesday nights I am working or catching up on other shows from the DVR, especially since we returned from China. The only thing I have to catch up on now is Chuck, and the DVR is down to about 20% full!
I had the day off yesterday and I began with watching 24. Granted, it's a Monday show, but I watched it on Tuesday.
24 - Jack Bauer has always had a good bit in common with John McClain, Bruce Willis' character in the Die Hard franchise. This week it really kicked in with the elements of "how can this guy keep standing after the physical toll his body has taken?"
We now know for certain that Jonas and Starkwood are NOT the end of the mega-conspiracy to usurp our government which NO ONE has a clue about. Tony is back to being a bad guy, now responsible for killing many FBI agents. Jack caught on, but of course his nerve agent exposure kicked in right as he was about to take Tony down. What's more? In the preview for next week we see Jack running around like he has zero physical problems again! The storyline is better than a few of the more recent seasons, but I'm about ready for it to end.
American Idol - We're still at 7 after last weeks Judge's Save, but we drop two tonight. Tonight we will likely see the departure of Lil (who the judges have been openly working against for over a month despite her trying to and sometimes actually doing what they have told her) and probably Anoop.
Lil - opened the night, a major strike against her. Only Adam and Danny can open a show and be guaranteed to be safe.
Kris - made Disco night bearable by making a disco song Santana-like. Good move.
Danny - nothing out of the ordinary or unique at all, but solid.
Adam - Takes the BeeGees in a totally different direction and it seems to work. I like the rock Adam better.
Matt - I like this guy. He may be channelling Timberlake too much, but I like his style.
Allison - the most OVER-rated performer this year. She's bettter than the skunk-haired nurse from last year, but she is not the talent they think she is and I can't look at her fake red hair.
Anoop - Last to perform and did a song I did not recognize. I won't miss him or his desire to be an R&B singer. V-103 in Atlanta would never play him.
Biggest Loser - From 6 to 5 and Kristin is gone!
Kristin has had so much more camera time than anyone else and Amy and I were tired of listening to her. Congrats on being the biggest woman ever on the show. She got SO very annoying at the end of the episode repeatedly telling Mike that he is "taking the easy way out to win the show" by eliminating her. Well, DUH! Ultimately it is a game to be won. His only real threats are Kristin and Tara, and Tara is a freaking machine! So yeah for the kid who has lost more than any other contestant in the history of the show and to his dad for helping him. I just hope that when they get home they can help brother Max who is left as the only big guy in the family.
I had the day off yesterday and I began with watching 24. Granted, it's a Monday show, but I watched it on Tuesday.
24 - Jack Bauer has always had a good bit in common with John McClain, Bruce Willis' character in the Die Hard franchise. This week it really kicked in with the elements of "how can this guy keep standing after the physical toll his body has taken?"
We now know for certain that Jonas and Starkwood are NOT the end of the mega-conspiracy to usurp our government which NO ONE has a clue about. Tony is back to being a bad guy, now responsible for killing many FBI agents. Jack caught on, but of course his nerve agent exposure kicked in right as he was about to take Tony down. What's more? In the preview for next week we see Jack running around like he has zero physical problems again! The storyline is better than a few of the more recent seasons, but I'm about ready for it to end.
American Idol - We're still at 7 after last weeks Judge's Save, but we drop two tonight. Tonight we will likely see the departure of Lil (who the judges have been openly working against for over a month despite her trying to and sometimes actually doing what they have told her) and probably Anoop.
Lil - opened the night, a major strike against her. Only Adam and Danny can open a show and be guaranteed to be safe.
Kris - made Disco night bearable by making a disco song Santana-like. Good move.
Danny - nothing out of the ordinary or unique at all, but solid.
Adam - Takes the BeeGees in a totally different direction and it seems to work. I like the rock Adam better.
Matt - I like this guy. He may be channelling Timberlake too much, but I like his style.
Allison - the most OVER-rated performer this year. She's bettter than the skunk-haired nurse from last year, but she is not the talent they think she is and I can't look at her fake red hair.
Anoop - Last to perform and did a song I did not recognize. I won't miss him or his desire to be an R&B singer. V-103 in Atlanta would never play him.
Biggest Loser - From 6 to 5 and Kristin is gone!
Kristin has had so much more camera time than anyone else and Amy and I were tired of listening to her. Congrats on being the biggest woman ever on the show. She got SO very annoying at the end of the episode repeatedly telling Mike that he is "taking the easy way out to win the show" by eliminating her. Well, DUH! Ultimately it is a game to be won. His only real threats are Kristin and Tara, and Tara is a freaking machine! So yeah for the kid who has lost more than any other contestant in the history of the show and to his dad for helping him. I just hope that when they get home they can help brother Max who is left as the only big guy in the family.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Photo Tour - L.A. and 90210
My Cousin Hope and LynnMarie. Hope has a 90210 address and she drove us around while we waited for our flight to Atlanta.
The Regency Beverly Wilshire (where Pretty Woman took place).
The Beverly Hills Hotel
The Roxy and The Rainbow Room
The Whiskey A Go Go
Mann's Chinese Theater
The Capital Records Building
The Hollywood Sign
Monday, April 06, 2009
Wow
So it's been over two weeks since I posted anything here. Well, we were pretty busy the first week as we were still in China and then getting home. I wrote about t he experience as far as getting to Los Angeles over on the family blog and I have pictures to post from that point on.
We arrived in Atlanta at midnight last Saturday/Sunday. We worked on adjusting to the time change while sleeping through the NASCAR race with Amy's parents.
Monday they went home and I went back to work, for an hour. My foot had inflamed again to the point I could barely fit it in my shoe and I could not stand on it for 7.5 hours. I left and called the podiatrist for help in the form of steroids he called in for me. Tuesday was more like the same, another day missed at work.
Wednesday I made it to work, left at 1:30 to see the internist and returned at 2:30 to complete my shift. Based on the duration and harshness of my cough, she said it fit a CDC alert she had seen and about 5 other patients she has diagnosed with Whooping Cough. Yes, it is back. One of the symptoms includes coughing so much you vomit, which explains my China experiences.
We went to trivia Wednesday night to introduce the baby. I ate about half my entree and then said goodbye to it the way it came in.
I went to work Thursday morning only to discover shortly before lunch that my blood sugar had massively spiked, to over 500mg/l. (under 150 is typical). I went on break, shot up insulin and called Amy to take me home. By 5:30 or so we had it back to 150 mg/l.
Friday I returned to work and completed my first shift since returning to China.
Saturday I felt great early on. General strength was back. I had to run an errand at 10:30 for the store and I hit a Wendy's drive-thru for a jr. bacon cheeseburger on the way back. At 1:20 I went on break and I threw up the Wendy's. I ate my break food and finished my shift. I came home and cleaned the room my mom is using while she is here in Atlanta this week. I went downstairs to have dinner with Amy and immediately threw it up.
Since 8pm Friday I have kept my food down including the comfort food of mom's fried flounder and mac & cheese last night. LynnMarie LOVED the noodles and the corn side dish.
The cough is finally subsiding after a 6 day antibiotic pack and some strong cough suppressants. Now the shift is back to my feet and my inability to walk much. The podiatrist says gout. Amy and my mom want to hear my internist's opinion so we have a call in to her. We also have baby girl LynnMarie's first pediatric appointment this morning which will be a family affair.
So as it is, I have today and tomorrow off and I think I am out of sick days for the year now. Pray for my foot to heal so I can get back to life like normal, working, loving and caring for my baby and hopefully going to the gym.
Oh yes and yesterday was a mixed bag of emotions for sports as Jeff Gordon won his first race in over a year. Yeah! But the Phillies started an undependable hack for their first pitcher as World Series champions and he gave up 3 home runs in less than two innings including one to a kid who had NEVER been at bat in a Major League Baseball game in his life!
Final score Braves 4, Phillies 1. Mark Bradley of the atlanta paper (www.ajc.com) asked this morning why no bandwagon support for the Braves after one game. My answer, they know Brett Meyers is a hack who should be serving burritos at Taco Bell.
We arrived in Atlanta at midnight last Saturday/Sunday. We worked on adjusting to the time change while sleeping through the NASCAR race with Amy's parents.
Monday they went home and I went back to work, for an hour. My foot had inflamed again to the point I could barely fit it in my shoe and I could not stand on it for 7.5 hours. I left and called the podiatrist for help in the form of steroids he called in for me. Tuesday was more like the same, another day missed at work.
Wednesday I made it to work, left at 1:30 to see the internist and returned at 2:30 to complete my shift. Based on the duration and harshness of my cough, she said it fit a CDC alert she had seen and about 5 other patients she has diagnosed with Whooping Cough. Yes, it is back. One of the symptoms includes coughing so much you vomit, which explains my China experiences.
We went to trivia Wednesday night to introduce the baby. I ate about half my entree and then said goodbye to it the way it came in.
I went to work Thursday morning only to discover shortly before lunch that my blood sugar had massively spiked, to over 500mg/l. (under 150 is typical). I went on break, shot up insulin and called Amy to take me home. By 5:30 or so we had it back to 150 mg/l.
Friday I returned to work and completed my first shift since returning to China.
Saturday I felt great early on. General strength was back. I had to run an errand at 10:30 for the store and I hit a Wendy's drive-thru for a jr. bacon cheeseburger on the way back. At 1:20 I went on break and I threw up the Wendy's. I ate my break food and finished my shift. I came home and cleaned the room my mom is using while she is here in Atlanta this week. I went downstairs to have dinner with Amy and immediately threw it up.
Since 8pm Friday I have kept my food down including the comfort food of mom's fried flounder and mac & cheese last night. LynnMarie LOVED the noodles and the corn side dish.
The cough is finally subsiding after a 6 day antibiotic pack and some strong cough suppressants. Now the shift is back to my feet and my inability to walk much. The podiatrist says gout. Amy and my mom want to hear my internist's opinion so we have a call in to her. We also have baby girl LynnMarie's first pediatric appointment this morning which will be a family affair.
So as it is, I have today and tomorrow off and I think I am out of sick days for the year now. Pray for my foot to heal so I can get back to life like normal, working, loving and caring for my baby and hopefully going to the gym.
Oh yes and yesterday was a mixed bag of emotions for sports as Jeff Gordon won his first race in over a year. Yeah! But the Phillies started an undependable hack for their first pitcher as World Series champions and he gave up 3 home runs in less than two innings including one to a kid who had NEVER been at bat in a Major League Baseball game in his life!
Final score Braves 4, Phillies 1. Mark Bradley of the atlanta paper (www.ajc.com) asked this morning why no bandwagon support for the Braves after one game. My answer, they know Brett Meyers is a hack who should be serving burritos at Taco Bell.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Reality is Love
For about 60 hours now I have been a father. My world has changed for sure. We first heard about our daughter in late November and on Monday morning we got to meet her, hold her, and make her ours forever.
We left Atlanta for China on Wednesday morning of last week, arriving in China on Thursday. We spent Friday and Saturday touring in Beijing seeing Tianemin Square, The Forbidden Palace and I got to climb the Great Wall of China. Once in a lifetime opportunities for most people.
On Sunday we flew from Beijing to Zhoungzhou (pronounced Jung Jo) the capital of the Henan province. I slept surprisingly well Sunday night knowing that at 9am on Monday we would meet and receive our LynnMarie.
The entire experience has been wonderful. God placed a perfect baby in our family. She was born with special medical needs, but the care she received in her forst 12 months has done wonders already and her prognosis for a normal life is excellent.
LynnMarie was assigned to a specific orphanage in ths province, but with her medical conditions, she was allowed to go to the care of an American woman who is here to teach nursing but has starated a foster home for special needs orphans. This afternoon we met this lady and visited the two apartments she uses for the babies/children. It was an awesome experience seeing the heart of a woman and dthe hand of God working through her. Her kids have needs including heart defects, missing limbs, spina bifida, deafness and even an albino litle boy who will be going to a forever family in the USA pretty soon.
The greatest thing is these kids are cared for and are truly LOVED. Several nannies are emplyed full-time to care for the children and there is an American college student working as an intern at this time. It was a great hope for us that we would be able to meet our Angel in the flesh and see the environment in which LynnMarie was cared for and loved. The nanny's faces lit up as soon as they saw LynnMarie with us and though parting once again had to be bittersweet, they know the love they gave her will be continued forever.
I have a minor issue with downloading pictures from my camera to our laptop, but as soon as it is resolved, photos will be coming!
We left Atlanta for China on Wednesday morning of last week, arriving in China on Thursday. We spent Friday and Saturday touring in Beijing seeing Tianemin Square, The Forbidden Palace and I got to climb the Great Wall of China. Once in a lifetime opportunities for most people.
On Sunday we flew from Beijing to Zhoungzhou (pronounced Jung Jo) the capital of the Henan province. I slept surprisingly well Sunday night knowing that at 9am on Monday we would meet and receive our LynnMarie.
The entire experience has been wonderful. God placed a perfect baby in our family. She was born with special medical needs, but the care she received in her forst 12 months has done wonders already and her prognosis for a normal life is excellent.
LynnMarie was assigned to a specific orphanage in ths province, but with her medical conditions, she was allowed to go to the care of an American woman who is here to teach nursing but has starated a foster home for special needs orphans. This afternoon we met this lady and visited the two apartments she uses for the babies/children. It was an awesome experience seeing the heart of a woman and dthe hand of God working through her. Her kids have needs including heart defects, missing limbs, spina bifida, deafness and even an albino litle boy who will be going to a forever family in the USA pretty soon.
The greatest thing is these kids are cared for and are truly LOVED. Several nannies are emplyed full-time to care for the children and there is an American college student working as an intern at this time. It was a great hope for us that we would be able to meet our Angel in the flesh and see the environment in which LynnMarie was cared for and loved. The nanny's faces lit up as soon as they saw LynnMarie with us and though parting once again had to be bittersweet, they know the love they gave her will be continued forever.
I have a minor issue with downloading pictures from my camera to our laptop, but as soon as it is resolved, photos will be coming!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Lifechange
I did not realize that it has been 11 days since I last took the time to write anything here. It is roughly 6pm on Saturday March 14, 2009 and I am less than a day and a half from becoming a father.
I am sitting in a hotel room in Beijing, China. Somewhere to the Northeast of here, in another province I guestimate to be 500 miles away there is a baby girl in a state-run orphanage who has had a major change to her life this week and is about to have an even bigger one.
Two and a half years ago Amy and I began a journey of days that has now become a journey of hours and miles. Yesterday was the first birthday of Lu Chun Ai, whose parents abandoned her for multiple reasons ranging from the fact she is a girl to her badly mis-shapen feet. She was placed in an orphanage with man other children left to the care of the Chinese government.
An angel came in to her life and removed her from that orphanage and placed her in a small foster home where she would be loved on by multiple nannies every day and where arrangements were made to heal her sweet feet and her tiny fingers.
I knew nothing of this precious child before late November. Two days before Thanksgiving I learned that she existed. One day before Thanksgiving I saw her face and was able to read about her life. Five days later I decided with Amy that we wanted this little girl to have parents again and that we wanted the job.
A whirlwind of anticipation has ensued. there were lots of initials for events in the adoption process that came on certain days and each one brought us a step closer and closer to holding this baby.
Two days before Christmas we received a pre-approval (PA) from China. About three weeks later we got our Letter of Acceptance (LOA) from China which means they agreed that we would become Lu Chun Ai's parents. Next came the Travel Approval (TA) which was the final hurdle to clear and the point at which we could start making travel arrangements.
The reality of the past 30 months and the energy of the past 15 weeks is really hitting home. I am about to achieve one of the biggest things any man can do in his life, become a daddy. I will be responsible (as part of a two-person team) for the care and guidance of another human being. I will have my heart melt when I hear a tiny voice say "Daddy." I will have my heart break when she tests me with her actions and words. I will rejoice over the milestones of her life. I will cherish the Cinderella moments that Steven Curtis Chapman sings about with his daughters.
The past two days have been a vacation. My lifechange is looming. Like any other lifechange it is entirely voluntary, but it is powerful how huge an event this is. For me it ranks only with two others in my life, giving my heart to Jesus and sharing my heart and life in marriage with Amy.
There is so much about what I am about to do that I know nothing about. For these things I ask for your prayers and guidance and support. I will make mistakes. I will need help, sometimes knowingly, sometimes not. Ultimately I know the correct outcome will happen. God's hand will guarantee it, but it is still a scary prospect, but it is one I have chosen to create for my life and to face in every minute of every day.
Lu Chun Ai, prepare to experience lifechange like none you have known. Prepare to feel love in a way you have never known. Prepare to become LynnMarie ChunAi Christopher Atlanta, GA.
I am sitting in a hotel room in Beijing, China. Somewhere to the Northeast of here, in another province I guestimate to be 500 miles away there is a baby girl in a state-run orphanage who has had a major change to her life this week and is about to have an even bigger one.
Two and a half years ago Amy and I began a journey of days that has now become a journey of hours and miles. Yesterday was the first birthday of Lu Chun Ai, whose parents abandoned her for multiple reasons ranging from the fact she is a girl to her badly mis-shapen feet. She was placed in an orphanage with man other children left to the care of the Chinese government.
An angel came in to her life and removed her from that orphanage and placed her in a small foster home where she would be loved on by multiple nannies every day and where arrangements were made to heal her sweet feet and her tiny fingers.
I knew nothing of this precious child before late November. Two days before Thanksgiving I learned that she existed. One day before Thanksgiving I saw her face and was able to read about her life. Five days later I decided with Amy that we wanted this little girl to have parents again and that we wanted the job.
A whirlwind of anticipation has ensued. there were lots of initials for events in the adoption process that came on certain days and each one brought us a step closer and closer to holding this baby.
Two days before Christmas we received a pre-approval (PA) from China. About three weeks later we got our Letter of Acceptance (LOA) from China which means they agreed that we would become Lu Chun Ai's parents. Next came the Travel Approval (TA) which was the final hurdle to clear and the point at which we could start making travel arrangements.
The reality of the past 30 months and the energy of the past 15 weeks is really hitting home. I am about to achieve one of the biggest things any man can do in his life, become a daddy. I will be responsible (as part of a two-person team) for the care and guidance of another human being. I will have my heart melt when I hear a tiny voice say "Daddy." I will have my heart break when she tests me with her actions and words. I will rejoice over the milestones of her life. I will cherish the Cinderella moments that Steven Curtis Chapman sings about with his daughters.
The past two days have been a vacation. My lifechange is looming. Like any other lifechange it is entirely voluntary, but it is powerful how huge an event this is. For me it ranks only with two others in my life, giving my heart to Jesus and sharing my heart and life in marriage with Amy.
There is so much about what I am about to do that I know nothing about. For these things I ask for your prayers and guidance and support. I will make mistakes. I will need help, sometimes knowingly, sometimes not. Ultimately I know the correct outcome will happen. God's hand will guarantee it, but it is still a scary prospect, but it is one I have chosen to create for my life and to face in every minute of every day.
Lu Chun Ai, prepare to experience lifechange like none you have known. Prepare to feel love in a way you have never known. Prepare to become LynnMarie ChunAi Christopher Atlanta, GA.
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