Visit to Grandma

Yesterday, we all travelled to Waterloo so Emma could visit Grandma E. While we were there, we left Emma at Grandma's house so Mel and I could go bicycling on the trail system in Cedar Falls. Whenever I am in Waterloo or Cedar Falls I somewhat wish that we still lived there. The trail system is far superior to what we have in Cedar Rapids. Also, there are a lot of local restaurants there that we both really like. Typing this blog posting, I am pretty sure I have blogged about this before. Anyway, if Mel could get a good-paying job in the Cedar Valley and if I could work from home all the time, I would be all for moving back up there. However, I don't think either of those conditions is very likely to happen any time soon.

While we were there, we stopped at University Book and Supply where we picked up a couple of Cedar Falls RAGBRAI T-shirts. Cedar Falls is one of the overnight towns on RAGBRAI this year. I don't usually buy one of the local town's RAGBRAI shirts, but this one looked really nice, so we picked up a pair. After our ten-mile bike ride, we went back to my mother's house, and the four of us went to Beck's for dinner. I hadn't been there in quite some time, and it was as good as I remembered it.

Dinner and a Movie

Emma got her first babysitter this afternoon. We dropped her off at Mel's aunt's house early this afternoon so we could go to see Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. This was the first time we left Emma in the care of someone other than ourselves. We enjoyed the movie, with the exception of the girl sitting halfway down the aisle to the left of Mel. She talked almost nonstop during the movie. Much of her interruptions were questions to her boyfriend asking what happened or what someone said. I thought the movie was really good, although I think the prior two Pirates of the Caribbean movies were better. Mel had heard that there was something after the credits, so we stayed until the very end of the movie. We were the only ones to wait to leave, and I am glad we did. I don't want to give away the ending, but if you have yet to see the movie, wait through the credits.

After the movie, Mel and I went to Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano for dinner. Our dinner was quite good. It was nice to be able to go out to eat at a restaurant and not worry about whether Emma would need to be fed or if she'd be fussy. I didn't worry much about my Weight Watchers points at dinner this evening, but I think I'll still be fine for the week. I estimate that I still have a few of my weekly points allowance remaining.

Picking up Emma, we found out that she did quite well being away from us. She slept a little and she even finished an eight-ounce bottle of formula. Since she didn't sleep much during the day today, hopefully she'll sleep through the night tonight. The past couple nights, she's been waking up around 3:00 to be fed again. I hope she gets back to sleeping though the night soon.

A New Link

I have added a new entry to the Blogs I Read to the right side of my blog. It's Rambling Nelle. She's been reading and commenting on my blog for a while now and has recently begun blogging herself. So let's see what she has to say.

Signs

What is with people in this town? Do they not believe the street signs on the side of the road? For the past few days, the intersection at the west end of the street I live on has been torn up for construction, so at the east end of the street is a "Road Closed Ahead" sign. While I was outside for just five minutes this evening watering the hostas I transplanted this weekend, I saw three cars head west on my street, only to turn around in my or someone else's driveway. If my street were longer than one block, I could see that some people would think they could get where they wanted to go, but alas the street is a mere one block in length. So, if the road is closed ahead, and you want to turn onto the intersecting street, it is very unlikely that you will make it to your destination. Hopefully the construction will be done soon as it is a lot easier to get onto the major street nearby by using the street at the west end of my street, since it has a stoplight and the street at the east end does not.

Weight Watchers Week 5

I lost six tenths of a pound this week. Earlier in the week, I was wondering if I would lose any weight. I weighed myself on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and found that my weight each day was the same as it had been on Wednesday. Then when I weighed myself on Sunday and Monday, I was a pound heavier than the Wednesday before. Needless to say, the Weight Watchers website didn't say I lost too much weight this week. In my first five weeks of Weight Watchers, I have managed to lost 15.2 pounds.

This evening, since my functional manager at work was in the Iowa City office, visiting from Austin, Texas, several of us from work went to Old Chicago for dinner. I opted for one of the healthier entrees, even substituting vegetables for the french fries that I could have had. I did sample a few of the appetizers that were being passed around, but even with that, I don't think I did too badly with my points today. Mel and I will be going out to eat this weekend after we see the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie, so I don't want to blow all my weekly allowance points this early in the week.

Summer!

Now that Memorial Day is over, summer has unofficially begun, and that means that I get to wear shorts to work! Not many people were taking advantage of our dress code which allows shorts between Memorial Day and Labor Day, but there were a few people.

Speaking of Memorial Day, we had a nice day yesterday. We went for a bike ride and a walk. We also went to the high school graduation party of the kid across the street from us. That gave us a chance to talk to some of our neighbors who we don't really talk to all that often, although we do wave and smile as they drive past. I really hope we can better get to know our neighbors.

Yesterday I also cleaned out the gutters of the house. I had tried to use a product called the Gutter Buster that we bought at Menards. However, that device was a piece of crap, breaking the first time I tried to use it. So, I used the ladder we bought at Menards to climb onto the roof where I was able to unclog the downspouts in the front of the house. The back gutter was fine, but both ends of the front gutter were blocked. As I have a bit of a phobia of heights, I was a bit nervous being on top of the roof, two stories above the concrete driveway below, but it wasn't that bad. Now I'll be a bit more confident about going up there again when I need to.

Sunday Wrap-up

Yesterday I went over to Creativity Cave's apartment for the evening. This was the first time I had been away from Emma since she was born, except of course for going to work. Besides CC and myself, CC's son and Jason were there. Homercles stopped in for a bit as well. We played a little poker, although not for money and snacked on the food that CC made as well as that which the others of us brought. CC had recently acquired an entire season of Beavis and Butthead on DVD, so we watched that as well. It had been a while since I had seen Beavis and Butthead and watching it last was fun.

Today Mel and I finally made it out on our bike rides. We went down to Cedar Lake and while Mel rode the bike around the lake, I walked Emma the mile and a half distance around the lake as well. We then traded places.

Late this afternoon, we all went to Menard's to get some flowers and other gardening supplies. We have been wanting to get some flowers planted but have just been so busy. The holiday weekend gave us the perfect opportunity to get this done. We also got a new bracket for our flagpole. When we moved into this house two years ago, there was a flagpole bracket on the outside of the house, but our flagpole did not fit into it. I figured that Memorial Day weekend was a fitting time to spend the two dollars it cost for a different bracket. Now we'll be able to put our flag up for the holiday.

Damn Rain

Mel and I were going to go out for a bike ride today, but it looks like the weather will be keeping us from getting any riding in. Hopefully the weather is better tomorrow. We really need to go out on the bikes before RAGBRAI.

Wrapping Up the Week

I haven't blogged for a few days, so I'll just wrap up the remainder of my week in one posting.

Two Months Old
On Sunday, Emma was two months old, and on Thursday, she had her two-month appointment at the pediatrician's office. Emma has gained quite a bit of week since her two-week appointment. She now weighs eleven pounds, fourteen ounces. This puts her at the seventieth percentile for weight, up from the tenth percentile at her two-week check-up. She's also taller, measuring a whole two feet tall now. This places her at the ninetieth percentile for height. I have a feeling she's going to be one tall kid.

When we showed up at the pediatrician's office, we were expecting for Emma to receive some vaccinations. However it turned out that she has an ear infection. Because of this, she gets a two-week reprieve from her shots to give time for the antibiotic to do its work.

Happy Thirtieth Anniversary
Today is the thirtieth anniversary of the release of Star Wars. Star Wars is the very first movie that I can remember going to in the theater. I may have seen other movies in the theater before Star Wars, but I do not have any recollection of them. I suppose the fact that I was only four or five years old when I saw it in the theater could have something to do with not remembering any earlier movie experiences.

I specifically remember entering the theater late. By the time my mom, my friend Trenton, and I were walking down the aisle of the theater, the stormtroopers were already blasting their way into the rebel ship. That means we missed the text crawl at the very beginning, although I maybe couldn't have read it fast enough at that age. Star Wars played a very big role in my life throughout my childhood, and it still does to this day.

Changes at Work
Ok, this probably isn't all that interesting to anyone, but almost everyone at work got some new equipment this week--computer locks! Since many of us at work have to travel on occasion, we all have laptop computers that snap into a docking station while we are in the office. In order to prevent theft of computers from the docking stations while we are away from our desks, we now have to lock our computers to our docking stations. We already locked them up, or took them home, at night to prevent theft, but now our laptop computers are secure when we go to lunch or a meeting. I don't think this has really been a problem in the office. I guess we are just being proactive in preventing possible computer theft.

The Weekend!
Memorial Day weekend is finally here! Mel and I won't be doing too much this weekend. I had originally thought about going to the graduation party of one of my students at Waterloo West High School tonight, decided that I just wouldn't be able to make it. Gas prices are one of the reasons why I decided not to go. Also, it would have been pretty late by the time we got there since it would take an hour to get there once I got home from work. Then another hour to get home and it would have been really late.

Anyway, Mel and I plan on going cycling tomorrow to begin to train for RAGBRAI. Mel got some cycling gloves tonight. We'll take turns watching Emma while the other one of us rides the trails in town.

I also plan on going to Creativity Cave's apartment tomorrow night for a get-together of some of our friends. That should be fun since I haven't been there in a while.

Weight Watchers Week 4

This week I lost an additional 2.8 pounds, making my total weight loss since starting Weight Watchers four weeks ago 14.6 pounds. The Weight Watchers web site did scold be this morning when I entered my weight. Apparently I am losing weight too quickly. Over the past three weeks, I have lost an average of about 2.7 pounds per week. This is more than the 1 to 2 pounds per week that they recommend. I did not try to lose more than 2 pounds this past week, and I did follow the plan for the most part. I guess I'll just have to take their suggestion of eating a little more.

A Helpful Smile in Every Aisle

Since we were out of town all weekend, we didn't have a chance to do our grocery shopping on Sunday as we usually do. So tonight, while Mel was bathing Emma, I went out to do the grocery shopping. Usually we go to Wal-Mart because the low prices, but today I went to the Hy-Vee down the street instead driving about one mile in all instead of around sixteen miles. Not only did this save some gas and wear on the car, but it also saved around twenty minutes of my time. The one down side of doing my grocery shopping at Hy-Vee is that it costs more than shopping at Wal-Mart. However, I get a better feeling from shopping at Hy-Vee. Not only is Hy-Vee based in Iowa, but the atmosphere is much more pleasant. I also think it has a better selection than Wal-Mart.

Trip to Minnesota

This weekend Emma took her first trip out of Iowa to visit relatives in Minnesota. We left Friday morning, stopping in Waterloo to pick up some furniture from my mom's house to deliver to my sister. We also met up with my mom with whom we travelled to Minnesota, although she took her own car since the truck was packed full, and she planned on staying a little longer than we were. On our way, we stopped for lunch in Spring Valley, Minnesota. While we were in Spring Valley, we noticed a garage sale that had some baby clothes, so we stopped and bought a few outfits as well as some toys for Emma.

Since we would have arrived at my sister's house before she got home from work, we stopped at my grandmother's apartment in Hastings. When we arrived there, my aunt and two uncles were there visiting her. We spent a couple hours visiting with them all before going to my sister's house.

We spent most of Saturday at my aunt and uncle's house in Cottage Grove. Three of my cousins, one of their husbands, and five of their collective six children were there as well. With the exception of one of my cousins and her husband, I hadn't seen any of them in quite some time. It was good to see everyone. That evening Emma went to her first concert as we went to the Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra concert, in which my sister performs, at Sundin Music Hall at Hamline University. Emma managed to sleep through most of the concert, although she was wide awake during the first piece, Chamber Symphony Number 5 for 10 Winds, Op. 75, by Darius Milhaud. I was afraid that she would start crying during that piece since it was not too pleasant sounding. She did get frightened during the first piece after the intermission, Robert Schumann's Konzerstrück for Four Horns and Orchestra in F Major, Op. 86. With the four horns and drums, it was quite loud. Mel managed to calm her down and she fell asleep before the piece was over.

Finally, yesterday we took Emma on her first trip to the Mall of America following a visit to Ikea. While Mel and I enjoyed chili dogs from Nathan's Famous, Emma had a bottle of Similac. Our return trip was a bit painful when we filled the truck with nearly eighty dollars worth of gas when we were halfway home. But other than that, the drive home was not too bad. We did have to wake Emma up in Clear Lake to eat. We did not want to end up with a screaming, hungry baby in the middle of nowhere. With gas prices as they are, it may be a while until we take another long trip, but this one was fun.

Weight Watchers Week 3

I only ended up losing eight tenths of a pound this past week. That's actually not too bad considering I exceeded my weekly points allowance on Sunday when we had people over for lunch for Emma's baptism. This week might be pretty tough as well as we are heading up to the Twin Cities to visit my sister and other relatives this weekend. That means we'll probably be eating out some.

Power Outage

As I was returning home from work yesterday, I discovered that the electricity was out in my neighborhood. I was amazed at how out of control the streets were. I always assumed that when traffic lights were not functioning, and I mean completely off, not flashing red or yellow, that they should be treated as an all-way stop. Apparently I am the only one who believes that. People just kept driving through the lights, some of them without even slowing down! I am amazed that I did not witness any collisions!

Once I got home, it was pretty warm with temperatures in the eighties outside. The air conditioner had been running prior to the power outage. Fortunately, within two hours of my returning home, the power came on. We had dinner a bit late last night because of the interrupted electrical service, but we did get to have hot food.

Choppin' Onions

While we were doing our grocery shopping at Wal-Mart this morning, we decided to buy a kitchen gadget that we have seen advertised on TV, the onion chopper. We are having some family and friends over tomorrow for lunch after Emma's baptism. I'll be grilling burgers and Mel thought we should chop up some onions for people to put on their burgers. I guess some people like that kind of thing. The onion chopper made cutting the onions up into small pieces very easy! In face, I kind of wish I had purchased this item earlier. I will definitely be using it for all my onion-chopping needs!

Friday!

Friday is finally here, and it's about time! This week has just dragged on so slowly. Perhaps it's because I have been pretty busy at work most of the week. A lot of that time was filled with training sessions which have taken time away from the other work I need to get done.

Speaking of Fridays. It looks like Cedar Rapids will be getting a T.G.I. Friday's restaurant on the Westdale Mall property. Not that I'll be eating there all the time, but I do like their food. When I was living in Rosenberg, Texas, T.G.I. Friday's was one of the two restaurants I went to for dinner on Friday nights. The other restaurant being Chili's. Those were the restaurants off the first two exits on my drive into Sugar Land, Texas, from Rosenberg. Right now, the only time I get a chance to eat at T.G.I. Friday's is when I am in the Twin Cities for work.

EARLY Morning

It looks like Emma's streak of six days of not waking up until 4:00 or later has ended. She was a little hungry about an hour ago, but she fell back to sleep fairly quickly after getting a little formula inside her. Now I just need to get back to sleep. I have a bit of a cold or allergies or something, and that is making it a little more difficult for be to return to my slumber. I don't want to awaken Mel from my coughing in the bedroom, so I came down to the computer to check my email and such. Well, I think my coughing has finally subsided for now, so it's back to bed for me.

Concert Tickets

It looks like Mel and I will be going to a concert next month. Earlier this evening I won a pair of tickets to see "Weird Al" Yankovic when his Straight Outta Lynwood tour comes to the Paramount Theater in Cedar Rapids on July 1.

On my way home from work Monday, I heard Karol Kelly on KZIA announce that she was giving away tickets to Weird Al's concert. I hadn't even realized that he was coming to Cedar Rapids. Yesterday I tried to win some tickets, and I ended up being caller four when dialing in, but she was giving the tickets to the ninth caller. So I tried again today, and I won! I had planned on buying tickets when they go on sale this coming Saturday, but now I won't have to.

I have seen Weird Al in concert at the Paramount Theater over ten years ago during his Bad Hair Day tour. That performance was awesome and I'm sure this one will be awesome as well! I can hardly wait until July 1 for the concert.

Weight Watchers Week 2

So far, so good. This week I lost another 3.8 pounds, making my total weight loss 11 pounds since signing up for Weight Watchers online two weeks ago. This week was particularly difficult since I went to a wedding reception and a breakfast the following morning. I also ate out three times during the week. I am expecting my weight loss for next week to be slightly less than it was for this week. After another week, I should not be losing much more than 2 pounds each week.

Crying!

We've been having a lot of luck with Emma sleeping well and not being very fussy most of the time. She didn't wake us up at all last night until just after 5:00 this morning, and the previous few nights, she hasn't been waking up until around 4:00. I kind of like when I get to feed her at 4:00 in the morning. It gives Emma and me some quality time together watching classic Star Trek episodes on TV Land. This evening however, Emma has been crying quite a bit. Mel is feeding her again. Hopefully that helps her to settle down. I really hope she sleeps tonight like she has been since I could really use the sleep.

Olive Garden and a Wedding

The past couple of days has been a bit of a challenge for following Weight Watchers. On Friday, Mel and I went to Olive Garden for dinner. That actually did not make following my diet too difficult as I chose one of the healthier entrees and I took part of it home for lunch on Saturday. Last night however, made the diet a bit of a challenge. We went to the wedding of one of Mel's cousins. I tried to watch what I was eating at the reception, and while I could have done better -- eating just one piece of cake and skipping one of the entrees would have been good -- I could have done a lot worse, and I still haven't violated the diet for the week. That even includes going to Mel's aunt and uncle's house for breakfast this morning.

New Technology

Just a few days after ordering it from TigerDirect.com, our new Linksys wireless router has arrived! For quite some time now, the router we had hadn't been giving us consistent service, then last week, it finally just went kaput. Not only did the wireless not work, but I had to bypass it altogether to get a signal to the desktop computer. Well, the new one came yesterday and it is working great! Hopefully it will give me a faster and more consistent connection when I work from home.

Weight Watchers Week 1

In my first week using Weight Watchers's online program, I managed to lose 7.2 pounds. While a weight loss of that amount would not be healthy if achieved each week, I guess it is not uncommon to lose quite a bit of weight during the first week or two on a new diet. I'll probably drop down to losing just a pound or two each week pretty soon. I have to say that with their new program, the Weight Watchers diet is a lot easier to follow than it was when I tried it before, although I did not attend meetings or go online. I just used my wife's books.

My first goal is to get my weight below 200 pounds for the first time in quite a while. I got pretty close to that in 2004 when I began watching what I was eating using a dieting program at eDiets.com. I had started the summer of 2004 weighing 243 pounds, and through exercise and watching what I ate, I managed to get my weight down to 210 pounds by October. I managed to keep most of it off for quite a while, with my weight staying between 210 and 220 pounds until the beginning of June 2005. I think the stress I was under that June really hurt my focus on what I was eating and the exercise I was getting. By the end of 2005, my weight was back up to the upper 220s or lower 230s. So, of the 33 pounds I managed to lose, I gained about 20 pounds back. I think this diet I am on now will help me to learn healthier eating habits, so that should help me in the long run.

All Through the Night

I have returned from my brief hiatus from blogging. I've had a hard time finding the time to blog recently.

Emma actually slept through most of the night last night! We put her to bed between 9:00 and 9:30 last night and she didn't start making noises indicating that she was hungry until around 4:00 this morning! So, aside from the fact that I was a bit nervous to not be hearing from her at her usual time of between midnight and 2:00, I got a fairly good night's sleep.

Speaking of Emma, Mel took her to the pediatrician yesterday. A few weeks ago we noticed a red bump on her head. We didn't think much about at first, but is has been getting bigger over time. It's still not too big, but we thought that maybe having the doctor check it out would be a good idea. It turns out that it is hemangioma, which is a "a congenital benign skin lesion consisting of dense, usually elevated masses of dilated blood vessels." The doctor said that it should get bigger until Emma is about one year of age, then it should begin to disappear. By the time she's five years old, it should be completely gone.

Now on to me! After not being careful about what I've been eating, I signed up for the web version of WeightWatchers yesterday. It turns out that they have recently changed their program and I get significantly more points worth of food to eat each day. It's no wonder that I've always felt hungry while using WeightWatchers in the past. And now that I am paying for WeightWatchers, at least once my one-week free trial is over, I'll be more likely to actually follow the program. There's nothing I hate more than wasting money! Of course, that doesn't always stop me from wasting money, I'm just upset with myself when I do.

Weekend Update

Mel and I had a good weekend. On Saturday, we met up with CC for lunch at Perkins. This was the first time we had gone out to eat with Emma, and things went pretty well. It helped that she slept through the whole experience. We are planning on going out to eat this coming Friday for dinner. Hopefully she does as well then as she did Saturday.

On Sunday we finally had the baby shower that had been postponed from early March due to the bad weather that shut down much of the state. We managed to stuff over twenty people into our living room. The shower was pretty fun. We played one game in which we had to identify different flavors of baby food. Most people only smelled the baby food or sampled an extremely small amount of it. I decided to take a big scoop of each of the foods. I figured it would be easier to identify the flavors if I was tasting a large amount of the foods. Some of the people in attendance thought that was disgusting, but I didn't understand that feeling. Babies eat the stuff all the time, so it must be edible and nutritious. I have to say that it really wasn't that bad, although the fruits were better tasting than the vegetables.

Mel and I also rented a couple of movies this weekend, and I don't think we could have possibly rented two movies that were as different from each other as the ones we got. The first movie we watched was The Illusionist. That was an excellent movie. I have to say that the end of the movie was a bit of a surprise to me. The other movie we rented was Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. That movie was not nearly as good as The Illusionist, in fact, it was pretty stupid. Now I have seen worse movies that Talladega Nights, for example Dude, Where's My Car? But I have also seen better movies that some people who I will not name here, believe are very dumb. The movie I am thinking of is another movie that stars Will Ferrell, Zoolander. Despite thinking that this Will Ferrell movie was very dumb, I would still like to see Blades of Glory. But I will not see that until it comes out on video.

Enough Already

I am sure I am not the only person in eastern Iowa tired about hearing and seeing stories about last year's tornadoes in Iowa City. Yes, it did a lot of damage and a lot of people's lives were affected, but enough already. Now I was quite safe being some thirty miles or so north of Iowa City, being in Cedar Rapids, so I guess I don't know what it was like to be there. However, I imagine the people who lived through the tornadoes do not need the media to remind them about what happened. I am sure many of them would just like to get on with their lives. Hopefully there is no second anniversary reminder of the tornadoes next April 13!

Early to Rise

I have been up since around 3:15 this morning. Fortunately I went to bed shortly after 9:00 last night, so I had a solid six hours of sleep. I woke up around 3:15 to feed Emma. After putting her back to bed around 4:00, I couldn't get back to sleep, so I decided to check my e-mail. Unfortunately the Internet connection was down. So, instead of trying to get back to sleep, I called Qwest to determine what the problem was with our Internet service. By the time I was done working with the technician, it was a little after 5:00. Since I usually get up at 5:30 to get ready for work, there was little point in me going back to bed. Now, about twenty minutes before I leave for work, the Internet connection is finally back up. I guess that's not too bad. I was told it could be up to forty-eight hours until it would be back online. Of course, the technician said it would likely not take that long.

Late Night

For the past several nights, I've been getting a bit more sleep than I did initially when Emma came home from the hospital. She's been waking up pretty regularly around midnight or 1:00 A.M. So I get up then, feed her, changer her diaper, and put her back to bed. She's usually asleep within an hour of waking up. Well, last night was a bit different. I'm not sure what her problem was, but she just did not want to go back to sleep. After being up for almost two hours with her, Mel got up to sit up with her for a while. I am so looking forward to the stage where she sleeps through the night!

I have learned some things by being at least partially awake in the middle of the night:

1. KWWL apparently reruns The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 2:00 A.M.
2. South Park is still as blasphemous as ever. This I learned while watching a rerun of their Easter episode at midnight a few nights ago.
3. One of the Disney Channels we get shows cartoons from the '80s late at night. I saw an episode of the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon two weekends ago.
4. For some reason, FX shows a block of Married with Children starting at 12:15 A.M. What an odd time to start a program!

Happy Easter!

Emma Gets More Visitors

I'd say that we had some visitors today, but I know that the only reason that my mother and sister came was to visit Emma, not Mel or myself. Anyway, it was nice to see them. My sister brought a gift for Emma from Martha, a friend of ours who lives in the Twin Cities. Mom and my sister arrived around 11:30 this morning and were here until close to 5:00. Since they were here during lunchtime, we picked up food from the Cork and Fork for lunch. I really love that place, but until the past few weeks, I hadn't eaten there all that much.

While they were here, the topic of conversation turned to YouTube for some reason. While discussing YouTube, my sister mentioned a video clip from Saturday Night Live that she had seen there which was hilarious! So a few minutes ago, I thought I'd look for it. I must agree that it is quite funny, so I am including it here. This video contains words that were not in the television broadcast and is not appropriate for young children. So, I wouldn't play it if there are kids nearby.

My Humps

A few weeks ago, I posted a remade version of Sir Mix-A-Lot's video Baby Got Back. Today I am going to post a video by Alanis Morissette performing that ever so socially relevant song by the Black Eyed Peas, My Humps. In case you want to compare Morisette's parody to the Black Eyed Peas' original video, I am including that as well.

To the Doctor

Today was Emma's first trip to the pediatrician. She went for her two-week check-up. We had to wait a while in the waiting room before being able to see the doctor, but it was worth it. The doctor is very nice and very thorough, giving us plenty of opportunities to ask questions. We learned how Emma is developing. At two weeks, she is at the seventy-third percentile for height, the tenth percentile for weight, and the fiftieth percentile for head circumference. While I know these numbers will likely change, it looks like Emma may grow up to be fairly tall and lanky. Emma didn't get any vaccinations on this trip to the doctor, but she'll get some next time!

Now for another topic from my day today. This afternoon, I succumbed to peer pressure. Several people in the neighborhood had mowed their lawns today, so I decided that I had better do so as well. I am glad that I did, as the lawn will probably be very damp tomorrow considering the severe thunderstorm that is taking place as I write this.

Finally, tonight Mel ordered herself an iPod, and now I am a bit jealous! When I bought my iPod about a year and a half ago, I decided to go with the 4 GB iPod nano. While I have enjoyed it, I have found myself wishing that I had bought a full-sized iPod with video capability. Well, that's what Mel got. She didn't get the largest one available, but is still getting a 30 GB iPod. We ordered it tonight using the discount that I get through my job. I still get by with my nano, but if I ever find myself needing to replace it, I will definitely get an iPod with greater capacity!

Her Own Room

Last night Mel and I got a bit more sleep because we finally put Emma to sleep in the crib in her room. Up until then, we had her sleeping in a bassinet in our room so we could hear when she needed something. We did go to Target to pick up a baby monitor though so we'd be able to hear her in her room though. She made it through the night just fine, as did we. In fact, she seemed to be up less last night. Perhaps the crib is more comfortable, or maybe it's the fact that we are feeding her a bit more than we had been. She doesn't seem to get as hungry as often now.

Catching Up

Becoming a new parent has made me a bit too busy to blog as regularly as I had been, but I have a few minutes now, so I am going to catch you up on what I have been up to. Yesterday I had to leave Mel and Emma to go back to work. Mel's mom is staying with us for a few days; that has been a real help.

Today at work, the math group went out to lunch at the Airliner in downtown Iowa City because it was the last day of one of our coworkers. Actually she has a few days of work left, but they are on a business trip.

Now for what's going on on the home front. Before the baby was born, people warned me about how little sleep I'd be getting once the baby was born. I figured I'd get a bit less sleep, but I didn't realize I'd be feeling continuously exhausted. Hopefully I can catch up on some sleep this weekend, but I have things that I need to get done around the house. I should still be able to find a little time to catch up on my sleep though.

Happy Birthday Mel!

Today is Mel's birthday. Normally we would have gone out to dinner for her birthday, but she wasn't really feeling up to going out, as she just got home from the hospital a few days ago and is still a bit sore. So, I picked up dinner at Biaggi's. It was very good, and the portions were large enough for us to have leftovers later.

Today is also the birthday of Leonard Nimoy, so in honor of his seventy-sixth birthday, here's a short video:

First Night at Home

Well we thought we were ready to bring a baby home from the hospital, but at 11:00 last night, we realized that we weren't as prepared as we thought we were. It was at that time that Emma appeared to be hungry, so we started feeding her one of the bottles of Enfamil that we took home from the hospital. She had had two bottles of Enfamil earlier in the day, and while she drank them without much problem, she didn't seem to like them as much as the Similac that she had previously been given. So when we tried to give her the Enfamil at 11:00 last night, she pretty much refused to take it. Fortunately, the hospital also sent us home with a jug of ready-to-use Similac. However, we soon found out that we only had one nipple for the baby's bottles. So I got to take a trip to Hy-Vee to pick up a few more to hold us over until today, when I will have a chance to do some more shopping. I also have to run a few other household errands today. I know I have to go get these things, but I really don't want to leave my daughter.

Going Home

Emma and Mel got to come home from the hospital today, but before everyone got to leave, Emma got to take a trip to the main part of the hospital. She had to have an ultrasound on her hip. Apparently the doctor had detected a clicking noise coming from her hip and wanted it to be checked out. So before she could be discharged an orthopedist had to check her out. This was the second time she had an ultrasound while at the hospital. A pediatric cardiologist had an electrocardiogram done because there was a slight murmur in her heart. After looking at the results, he wasn't too concerned about it. So around four o'clock this afternoon, we were finally able to go home from the hospital. After we got home, Emma's pediatrician called to let us know that her hip is just fine.

Happy Birthday to the Shat!

In honor of William Shatner's seventy-sixth birthday, I would like to present this short video presentation.

Day 2

Today has been a day of many visitors. My mother stopped by again this morning before returning to Waterloo. Mel's sister and niece came by this afternoon. A former coworker of Mel's also stopped by. And both H and CC stopped by the hospital as well.

Mel's IV was removed late this afternoon, so she has become a bit more mobile. She even got to eat real food for lunch after being limited to liquids for breakfast. I just don't think that chicken broth sounds too tasty for breakfast.

When Mel's sister was here, I had the chance to leave for a short while to finish buying Mel's birthday present since her birthday is on Monday. I had tried to finish my shopping last weekend, but the place I needed to get her last present is apparently not open on the weekend. Anyway, I was able to get right in to get what I was looking for. I hope she likes it.

An Early Arrival

We weren't expecting our baby to be born for another couple weeks, but things changed this morning when Mel's doctor told her she should get to the hospital. This was my week to drive for the carpool, so I had to gather the two others who rode to work with me so I could get back to Cedar Rapids from Iowa City. I had been thinking that I would start driving myself after this week in case Mel went into labor earlier than we thought she would, but I guess I didn't plan that out far enough ahead.

Anyway, once I dropped of my carpooling companions, I stopped by the house to pick up the digital camera and then I headed to the hospital. When I got there, Mel was lying in bed with a heart monitor hooked up to her, listening to the baby's heartbeat. She was pretty sure at that time that the baby would be coming fairly soon, and she was right. Our baby, Emma Mae, was born at 3:53 this afternoon, weighing 7 pounds 1 ounce and being 21 inches long. I can't believe the baby is finally here!

This first photo shows me holding Emma about 10 minutes after she was born.

Next, here's Mel holding Emma a short time later.

And finally, here's a photo of Emma sleeping this evening.

My Dad, UNI Homecoming Chair 1966

Last night I was googling my last name and decided I'd go to the website of my alma mater, the University of Northern Iowa, and do a search on their website for me. Well, I didn't find anything about me, but I did find a photo that includes my father. He is the third person from the left in the photo below. In it, he is standing next to the 1966 homecoming queen, in his role as homecoming chair at what was then called the State College of Iowa. I'm not sure what I was hoping to find, but it wasn't this!

Extreme Closeups

I picked up a new digital camera at Best Buy last week. A while back, I thought about buying a video camera so I could capture video of our baby once she is born, but then I began to wonder just how much video I would shoot. So instead, I bought a digital camera that can shoot video clips as well as stills. In the highest quality of video, I can shoot video up to seventeen minutes long. That should be good enough, and if it isn't, I can shoot up to an hour of video in the lower resolution mode. Mel actually picked out the camera, a Canon PowerShot S3 IS, and the salesman at Best Buy recommended it as well. So far I have been quite pleased with the camera.

Last Wednesday I shot some extreme closeup photos using the super macro mode on the camera. Here is a selection of the photos that I took that day.

A Visitor

My mother-in-law is visiting us tonight. She is attending a bridal shower for my wife's cousin tomorrow in town and came to our house this afternoon so she could spend some time with us. This gave Mel the chance to show her where the hospital is where we plan on having the baby. Now she'll know where to come see her newest grandchild when she is born next month. The three of us went out to dinner at the Irish Democrat. It had been quite some time since we had been there, which is why we suggested it. As always, the food was very good! I can honestly say that it is one of my favorite local restaurants in the Cedar Rapids area.

Mel has to work this weekend, so that will leave me home alone with my mother-in-law. Hopefully she can keep herself entertained in the morning because I need to get some work done tomorrow morning. In the afternoon, I may end up going to the Saint Patrick's Day parade downtown if I don't end up driving to Waterloo. I need to go there some time soon to help my mother with some computer issues, and to borrow her carpet shampooer. If I don't go see her tomorrow, I may have to do that Sunday afternoon after attending the new member orientation at church.

Funeral

Yesterday was my grandfather's funeral. It went pretty well. I was surprised by the number of people in attendance. I think there were around one hundred people who came! My sister did a good job singing the Lord's Prayer as my grandfather had wanted her too. She didn't seem to have a problem getting through the song. We hung around at my grandmother's house for a while after the funeral, not leaving until after 7:00.

Now, after two days off from work in the middle of the week, I have to get back to work today. However, I am going to be working from home. I need to be around this morning for the plumber who is coming to fix a leaky toilet. I hope that it's nothing major. I would be going into the office after the plumber leaves, but Mel has a baby doctor appointment this afternoon that I am going to as well, so I figure that I might as well just stay home and work from here all day.

Replacing Computer Parts

As I write this blog entry, the software that came with out new Sony DVD+R 18x drive is being installed on our computer. Last week, the Philips DVD R/RW drive that came with out Dell Dimension computer stopped working. It would open up upon starting the computer and it would not close. I tried a few different things, such as reinstalling the drivers for the drive and reconnecting the cables, but that didn't work, so we bought a new drive today. So far it seems to be working just fine. I am always quite pleased with myself when I manage to upgrade or replace parts on the computer without messing things up.

Goodbye Grandpa

My grandfather passed away this afternoon. His health hasn't been all that great for the past several years. In fact, for several years now, whenever the phone has rung and the caller ID says it's my mom calling, I've been afraid that it was about grandpa. Ever since his ninetieth birthday a few weeks ago, his health has been declining.

My mom called me at work yesterday to tell me that she was headed to go see my grandparents and that grandpa was not doing very well at all. So when I got home from work yesterday, Mel went to visit them. Grandpa was pretty much out of it when we saw him at the nursing home where he's been for about a week and a half. I don't think he was really every aware that we were there. While I am sad, this was not at all unexpected, and my grandpa doesn't have to deal with the pain anymore. My grandma has been doing her best to try to take care of him the past few years, and that was very hard on her. Hopefully now she will be able to relax a bit and just worry about taking care of herself.

Bouncy Seat

This week, the featured photo is one that I just took an hour ago. This is a picture of the bouncy seat that we got for the baby from Mel's friend Heather. Sitting in the seat is a stuffed bear that I bought in January while I was in Minnesota for work.

Speaking of the baby, we did some shopping for some baby essentials this morning. We thought we'd get a lot of what we needed at the baby shower that had been planned for last weekend, but that was unfortunately postponed by the weather. The rescheduled date isn't until a few weeks after the baby is due, so we decided we'd have to get a few things ourselves. I guess we'll be taking things back if we get any duplicate presents.

Don't Smoke

C-3PO says smoking is bad.

I found this on YouTube tonight and I think I actually remember this ad from when I was younger.

Getting Ready

Mel and I went to the Saturn dealership in town tonight to have the baby's car seat bases installed into out vehicles. Sure, we could have done it ourselves, but for no cost we had someone who really know what she is doing install them for us.

The Calm Before the Storm

I haven't been blogging a whole lot this week, mainly because I haven't had much to say. Oh, there was a bit of drama this weekend regarding the postponed baby shower, but for the most part that has been resolved. We had an appointment at the baby doc today. Everything seems to be going just fine. We have about four weeks to go.

In four weeks, I imagine my blogging will decrease some, but when that happens, it won't be for a lack of topics to write about. Instead, it will probably be due to a lack of time or energy. From what people have been telling me, I shouldn't expect to get much sleep once the baby is born. It's really too bad that I can't sleep a lot now and save it up for when I won't be able to sleep.

Movie Sign

Mel and I went to see the movie Zodiac this afternoon, but not before having lunch with her friend Penny and Penny's son at Perkins. Lunch was good, and so was the movie. Zodiac was pretty long, being over two and a half hours long, but we both really enjoyed it. I was so engrossed in the movie that it didn't really feel as long as it was. While the movie had a very serious tone, I did find one moment slightly humorous. When the Melvin Belli, portrayed by Brian Cox, made an appearance, I leaned over to Mel and told her that he, Melvin Belli that is, was in an episode of Star Trek. Mel kind of rolled her eyes at me for that comment, but not thirty seconds later, another character said to the Belli character that he had enjoyed his appearance on Star Trek. I just found that a bit ironic. Anyway, I would recommend Zodiac to people who love crime movies.

Baby Got Back

If you think you have seen the video for Sir Mix-a-Lot's ode to the female backside, Baby Got Back, you need to check this video out. It presents the classic song from a somewhat different perspective.

Golden Spike Monument

This week's featured photo is of Jon, me, my cousin Laura, and my sister Rebecca at the Golden Spike Monument in Council Bluffs, making this the second in a series of featured photos from Council Bluffs. While part of the "golden spike" is visible in this photo, it's mainly of us and the sign for the Golden Spike Monument. The spike commemorates the junction of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific rail lines.

Another Snowy Day

This morning, my carpooling companion and I made the decision to each work from home due to the snowy condition of the roads we would have had to travel to get to work. That worked out pretty well for me. I spent the day working, using both my work laptop computer and our desktop computer to make my work a bit more efficient. Also, instead of listening to music with earphones and my iPod, I just played music through the computer's speakers directly from iTunes. This gave me access to the entirety of my music library instead of limiting me to the four gigabytes that my iPod can hold. Never mind the fact that there is no way I could listen to 4 GB of music in an eight-hour work day.

This evening, Mel and I went to Coralville to meet some friends for dinner at Olive Garden. These were people with whom I worked when I taught in Riverside, Iowa, several years back. In fact, in June it will have been five years since I left Highland. I got caught up on some of the gossip about what's going on at the school and we got to see friends, some of whom we haven't seen in over a year! In addition, we got some baby gifts while we were there, including some diapers and a couple of books that come with CDs--Rhinoceros Tap by Sandra Boynton and Poetry Speaks to Children edited by Elise Paschen. The poetry book includes poems by Odgen Nash, Gwendolyn Brooks, Langston Hughes, Rita Dove, Robert Frost, Sonia Sanchez, Roald Dahl, and many other poets.

On the topic of baby gifts, we did get a phone call from Mel's sister this afternoon. We were to have a baby shower tomorrow afternoon in Shell Rock, but due to the weather, the shower is being postponed until some time in April. The roads are so bad in northwestern Iowa that Mel's mom can't make it the two miles into Humboldt, let alone make it across the state to Shell Rock. And travel is not advised across most of the northern and western parts of the state. It would have been nice to have the shower tomorrow, but it's better to have it when people can safely attend.

Damn You Pachelbel!

My sister sent me an email with a link to a video on YouTube. The video is a rant by comedian Rob Paravonian. Apparently he was a cellist and loved all music on the cello, except for Pachelbel's Cannon in D, which is a horrible piece to play on the cello. It's just so dammed boring! I played the Cannon in D in high school orchestra and I have had a strong dislike for this piece ever since then. I'm just glad that my wife didn't want Pachelbel played at our wedding! Now after watching Paravonian's rant, I am afraid that I will hear the tune popping up in all sorts of places that I hadn't before!

PANIC!

Around 9:30 this morning, while I was at work, an email was sent from someone in my company's human resources department to all the Iowa employees to inform us that the state Department of Transportation was thinking about closing Interstate 380 at 10:00. As a significant portion of our employees travel I-380 to get to and from work, this was kind of a big deal. Now, people started talking about how the interstate was closed, however this never actually occurred. I can't blame people for getting this wrong though as some of the media were reporting the closure as a fact instead of as the tentative plan that the DOT had. Nevertheless, this gave me and my carpooling companions a reason to head home from work early. I finished up my work from home this afternoon and I am now watching light flurries of snow out my window, waiting for the forecasted cataclysm to happen.

A Busy Couple of Days

The past two nights, Mel and I had pregnancy classes to attend at Saint Luke's Hospital. Tuesday night's class was "Pathways to Birth" and last night's class was "Comfort Skills for Labor." The class last night had a lot of good ideas for helping with pain during labor and ideas for how to get labor moving along. Hopefully what we learned in that class will come in handy in just over one month. Tuesday night's class showed us ways that labor can be induced. We also saw a video of a baby being delivered by cesarean section. I thought I'd have a hard time watching a real surgery on the monitor, but it wasn't too bad to watch on the TV.

Lucky

Mel and I were able to get together with Bill for dinner last night at Carlos O'Kelly's. We had planned on dinner together Saturday night, but the storm caused us to cancel our plans. When we got there around five o'clock, they weren't too busy. I thought that they might be busier than they were because of people who still didn't have electricity. On that count, we were quite lucky. We did not lose power at all during the storm. After dinner we stopped at Home Depot because we needed a new furnace filter. When we arrived there were a lot of cars lined up from the building all the way down an aisle in the parking lot. I presume that they were lined up to pick up generators because they did not have electricity restored yet. I'm glad that we were not in that situation!

Good News at Work

I got some good news at work Friday. While on our daily morning walk across the parking lot to the Subway/BP station, we as the manager who was with us where our raises were since by this time last year we had already received raises. So he called our manager to tell him that we were threatening to walk out if we didn't get raises. One of us, not me, had jokingly made a comment to that effect. Anyway, by the end of the day, our manager, who works at a different location from us, had called each of us to let us know about raises we will be getting. I am pretty pleased with the amount, and it's coming just in time, as I am sure that we will be able to use the extra money with the baby coming in a little over a month from now. Now, I am just waiting to get a promotion which should result in an additional increase in pay.

The Black Angel

For a while last year, I was posting a "Photo of the Week." When I revised the layout of my blog, I ceased that feature. Well, I am bringing it back in a sense. I don't want to feel bound to a set schedule for posting new photos. I'd like to post a photo every week, but sometimes I'll be too busy or I am unable to find a photo. So, let's just call this a "Featured Photo."

In the first of these photos, I am at the Ruth Anne Dodge Memorial, also known as the Black Angel, in Council Bluffs, Iowa, with my cousin Laura, my sister Rebecca, and Jon, the husband of another cousin of mine. This photo was taken around Christmas in 2002 when we were visiting my grandmother who lived there at the time. My uncle Jim was driving us around town, showing us the sights of Council Bluffs.

Stuck at Home

We are stuck in the house today due to some amazingly bad weather. I did step outside a couple hours ago to spread ice melt on the steps up to our front door; I don't want the mail carrier to slip and fall when he delivers the mail today. Prior to spreading the ice melt though, there was about a quarter inch of ice on the steps. It looks like our dinner plans with Bill are cancelled. I'm just glad that this weather is happening on the weekend. That allowed me to sleep in after being rudely awoken around 4:30 this morning by an alarm on the weather alert radio. I was so grateful though to be alerted to the fact that we are under a blizzard warning. It made me feel much safer as I went back to sleep. :)

He's Out!

Well, that didn't take long. Tom Vilsack, our former governor, has withdrawn from the 2008 presidential race. He is claiming that he left the race because of money issues. Apparently he was having a difficult time raising enough money to be a serious contender. I have to wonder though if his lack of money is his only reason for dropping out. He didn't place too highly in any of the polls I had seen, and I think it would have been pretty bad for his campaign if he didn't place in the top few places in the Iowa caucuses next January. Of course, being viewed as a non-serious contender for the nomination couldn't have helped his fundraising any. Jon Stewart has been giving Vilsack a lot of crap on The Daily Show. I guess I'll have to tune in Monday night to see what he has to say about this development.

The Return of the Winter Weather

Mel and I just got home from doing some grocery shopping at Hy-Vee, and man that place sure was crowded. In an effort to get people checked out, the manager had us go to the express lane with out well-over-twelve items. Right now, we have plans on meeting my friend Bill for dinner tomorrow night at Carlos O'Kelly's, however if we get a lot of ice as the weather forecasters are predicting, we may have to cancel out dinner date. If that happens, perhaps we can make it up next weekend.

A Messy Ride

Yesterday I thought about going for a bike ride but decided against it. Today however, I did go for a bike ride. I spent fifty-three minutes dodging potholes and rivers of melting snow and ice as I rode nearly eleven miles. The temperature was in the low fifties, which was still a bit cold. I was wearing three T-shirts to keep warm; one of them was long-sleeved. Most of my clothing didn't get too dirty as the bag on the back of my bike caught most of the grime as the rear wheel flung it upward. I am doing some laundry though to get what little mud is on my clothes off of them before it dries.

I was able to get out for my bike ride pretty easy because I worked from home today. Mel had an eleven-o'clock appointment at the baby doctor today and I wanted to go along. I had considered going to work for a few hours before coming home, and then working from home in the afternoon. Alternatively, I considered working from home until after the appointment and then going in to work. Either way, I would have spent just a few hours at work, so I decided it made the most sense to just stay home. I actually think I get more work done when I am working from home. I don't have to deal with the distractions of being in the office, and it was nice to be away from all of the candy dishes today!

The appointment went well as everything seems to be going fine. The baby's heart rate was good and there were not any signs of problems. I can hardly believe that in about a month and a half I will be a father!

No Candy

Yesterday morning when I did my weekly weigh-in, I discovered that I had gained 1.2 pounds from the previous week. If I am going to get serious about losing some weight--I now have 32.0 pounds to lose before I reach my goal--I am going to really need to watch what I eat. With Lent beginning today, I decided that it is a perfect time to give up something that I enjoy. Last year I abstained from drinking soda during Lent, at least for the most part. I think I did end up having one or two sodas at some period during the forty-six-day period. This year I am going to forgo all candy. Fortunately, on Sunday I finished the Jelly Belly jelly beans that Mel gave be for Valentine's Day. Of course that may be part of why I gained this weight in the last week. The hardest part of giving up candy will be avoiding all of the assorted candy dishes that people have around the office, starting with the one across the aisle from my cubicle. Fortunately, there hasn't really been any candy there that I crave for lately. Around the corner though, there is usually a dish of chocolate just waiting for my arrival. Nevertheless, I think this is something that I can definitely do, and it should help to improve my health over the next month and a half.

Missing the Classroom

The past month or so, I have found that I have really been missing my old career, teaching. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy my current career developing math assessments, but working as a math content specialist doesn't give me the same sense of accomplishment that teaching sometimes did. I really miss the personal satisfaction I got by helping a student to learn something new and to really understand it.

This feeling I have had that I miss teaching has really intensified this week. On Sunday I saw a job listing in the newspaper for a math teaching position at a local high school. The job includes teaching Algebra 2 and more advanced classes. This would be a great job as I don't think it would have some of the issues that I had problems with when I taught. From previous experience, students who take these upper-level classes are usually more serious about them and really want to learn. The same isn't necessarily true of students in lower-level, required classes. However, leaving my current job to return to teaching isn't really an option for me at this point. For starters, it would result in my taking a pay cut of about twenty percent! Even if it weren't for the quickly approaching arrival of our baby, a pay cut of this magnitude would be hard to manage. Besides, as Mel pointed out to me earlier tonight, quite often I was not all that happy teaching.

Warm Enough for a Bike Ride?

While riding home from work today in my car pool, I seriously considered going for a bike ride once I got home. It would have been my first bike ride since July 29 last year, the last day of RAGBRAI. However, after sitting down at the computer to check my email, I decided that with a wind chill factor of 35°F, it is a bit too cold for a bike ride, especially since I don't really have any cold-weather cycling gear.

Being Productive

I haven't blogged in the past few days, so here's an update on what I have been up to. Yesterday was a fairly productive day for me. I started out the morning by driving to the American Red Cross to donate a pint of blood. Immediately following that, I had my car serviced, then I returned home. I spend much of the afternoon installing a closet organization system in my closet. Now, I am able to get all of my hanging clothes in my closet, instead of having some of it in the guest bedroom closet. Also, everything is a lot easier to find now as it is organized!

I am going to continue my productiveness today by doing a few hours worth or work for my job. I have had a lot of work the past several days that is all due tomorrow, and I don't think there are enough hours in the day tomorrow to finish it all, so working today is my only option. Well, I could get it done late, but that isn't a very good way to deal with it.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day everyone. Mel and I had a nice evening going out to dinner at Olive Garden tonight. It was pretty crowded there, but we only had to wait forty-five minutes for our table. Dinner was good, but unfortunately they were out of the dessert that Mel wanted. She ended up getting a Blizzard from Dairy Queen instead.

Mel got me a Best Buy gift card for a Valentine's Day present. I have been considering buying a video camera so I can make video recordings of the baby. I have already received some Best Buy gift cards for Christmas, so this will add to them in getting enough to afford a camera. I still need to decide what exactly I want though.

One of the presents that I got for Mel was a talking stuffed animal from Hallmark. Its name is Leonardo and he has a tail that moves back and forth when he talks in his Latin accent. She really seems to like the cat

Back to Losing Weight

I was wondering if I would end up gaining some weight this past week since there was so much food at my grandfather's birthday party, including some massive chicken pieces. However, I was able to lose weight. In fact I am only two-tenths of a pound above where I had hoped to be at this time.

Since Last Week: -1.8 lbs.
YTD Change: -5.8 lbs.
Pounds to Goal: 30.8

Snow Day, Woohoo!

I'm working from home today because of all the snow that has fallen. And from the emails I have seen on my work computer, I am not the only one who is working from home. I imagine that the office will be a very quiet place today for anyone who actually does show up for work.

That's One Messed Up Dude

Mel and I went to see Hannibal Rising yesterday afternoon. She really wanted to see it because she had recently finished reading the book. Initially, I wasn't all that excited about seeing it, however I have to admit that the movie was pretty good. I did find it a bit disturbing that the "hero" of the movie, Hannibal Lecter, is the villain of the other movies in the series. It did feel a bit strange rooting for a serial killer, but I guess his victims deserved it.

First Sign of Spring

I noticed one of the first signs of spring yesterday, and I am not referring to the slightly warmer temperatures. The occurrence that indicated to me that spring is nearing is that our neighborhood Dairy Queen is once again open! I really need to avoid the DQ if I want to lose some weight, however I bet I'll be making a trip or two there in the upcoming months as my wife craves a Blizzard during the final two months of her pregnancy!

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

This afternoon, Mel and I went to my grandparents' house in Keystone, Iowa, to celebrate my grandfather's ninetieth birthday. We had a nice dinner with broasted chicken from the restaurant in town. And as usual, my grandmother talked about how the cake and other things that she made weren't good enough. Of course they were great. There usually isn't a problem with any of the food when Grandma says there is something wrong with it.

Hanging Out With Bill

Mel had to work last night, so that meant that I was home alone. So, I decided to get together with my good friend Bill. I went over to his place for a little while while he was waiting for his son to get picked up for a sleepover. We then ended up playing pool for a while at Fat Wally's in downtown Cedar Rapids. It was pretty evident from the quality of pool that I played that it had been a while since I had picked up a pool cue. Nonetheless, it was a good time.

It's Choco Taco Time!

Today I finally joined my fellow math content specialists at work in what has become a weekly ritual, Choco Taco time! A few weeks ago, a few of the people I work with decided to go up to the frozen food vending machine in the cafeteria at work on a Friday afternoon for an ice cream treat. One of the items that are for sale is the Choco Taco, which is vanilla ice cream with chocolate swirled in, inside a sugar-cone taco shell, with chocolate and peanuts on top. Now every Friday at 3:00 is Choco Taco time. This is usually indicated now with an email sent to all the math staff in our office by one of us.

Last week when everyone went up for the delicious ice cream treats, there were no Choco Tacos in the vending machine. One of our managers bumped into someone from the vending company, informing him that the lack of Choco Tacos in the vending machine was hurting employee morale, so this week, the machine was stocked with at least a dozen Choco Tacos. After our trip for the tacos today, there was but one left in the machine. I guess the math staff aren't the only ones in the building who like their tacos chocolaty.

Lots of Computer Time Tonight

I spent quite a bit of time on the computer tonight. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't so cold in the basement. My hands are beginning to cramp up due to the cold. Anyway, I spent most of my time on the computer tonight getting our taxes done. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised about how they came out. I also registered both Mel and myself for this summer's RAGBRAI. I really can't wait for the ride. Not only do I enjoy the ride itself, but I enjoy seeing my RAGBRAI friends who I only see for one week each year even though I live in the same city as some of the people I ride with.

Exciting News

Ok, calling this news "exciting" may be a bit extreme, but the news is interesting nonetheless. Both the Cedar Rapids Gazette and the Iowa City Press Citizen have reported that Chick-fil-A is expanding in the area. They will be opening a location at Coral Ridge Mall in Coralville and they will be adding some standalone locations in Cedar Rapids in the upcoming years. I haven't eaten at Chick-fil-A in years even though they currently have a location in Cedar Rapids. That restaurant is located in Westdale Mall, and why would I ever have a need to go there? I am probably at Coral Ridge Mall more often than I am at Westdale Mall, and I don't even live in Coralville. Of course, I sometimes pass through on my way to and from work, making it a more convenient location for me to shop at. The articles in both papers didn't seem to indicate that a new Chick-fil-A would be springing up any time soon in Cedar Rapids, but that's alright. I am trying to lose weight now, and I may just be able to reach my goal before it opens.

A New Podcast

Recently I have begun listening to a podcast that I read about on CNN's website--Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing. I have always been a bit of a fan of proper grammar, and just as mathematics mistakes drive me crazy, grammar issues can really bug me as well. I often have to restrain myself from correcting people's grammar. Even though I think my grammar skills are pretty good, I still learn some from Grammar Girl's podcasts. Now if I could just cure myself of screaming at newscasters on TV when they use incorrect grammar, I would be a bit happier. Better yet, maybe people who speak publicly for a living should learn to speak correctly!

Winter Carnival

Last week, I mentioned that I would post a photo from the Saint Paul Winter Carnival that I went to while on my business trip to Minnesota. Well, here it is.

Starting Over

Ok, I'm not really starting over, but in the past two weeks, I gained back much of the weight I have lost since the beginning of the year. Maybe I should have skipped the piece of cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory when I was on my business trip last week. Well, I should still be on track to lose the amount of weight I want to by my birthday.

Since Two Weeks Ago: +5.6 lbs.
YTD Change: -4.0 lbs.
Pounds to Goal: 32.6

Deciding on the SILO Tax

Next week, on February 13, residents of Linn County will be voting on whether to approve a ten-year one-cent school infrastructure local option sales tax. I am still deciding how I will vote on this matter. One of the things that the Cedar Rapids Community School District plans to spend the money it would receive on is to improve heating and air conditioning at the three high schools and in two of the district's middle schools. It would be nice to have the schools all air conditioned. I can remember teaching at the beginning and end of school years in unbearable heat. It is very hard to get the job done when everyone is so miserably hot. They are also saying that they will upgrade technology along with other uses of the tax.

One thing that pushes me toward voting for the tax is the vocal opposition of Carol Martin and Dick Fredericks. These two individuals seem to always be opposed to anything that the school district or the city try to do. Martin has been a fixture at city government meetings for years. She always seems to have something to complain about. The website that their organization has just rambles on and on about how the Cedar Rapids Schools do not need the money. They also cite some rather sketchy statistics to attempt to prove their point.

Anyway, I guess I have a little over a week before I have to make a final decision on this issue. I am sure that will be enough time for me to make up my mind.

Overcharged at the Wal-Mart

I was overcharged at the Marion Wal-Mart this afternoon. Had my wife not been along with me, I would have confronted the cashier to point out the incorrect price, but Mel insisted that I not bother with it. The item I was overcharged on was a cucumber. The signage by the cucumbers indicated that they were priced at .68¢ each. However, when it was rung up at the cash register, I was charged $.68, one hundred times the price shown on the sign! Wal-Mart's policy is, or at least was at one time, to give a discount of $5.00 if something is mispriced, or to give the item for free if it is priced under $5.00. I am not sure if that is still the policy or not, but next time I am shopping at Wal-Mart without my wife, I will be certain to point out any pricing discrepancies that I notice!

A Musical Trip to Des Moines

Less than twenty-four hours after returning home from a business trip to Minnesota, I had to go out on another road trip. However, this one was for pleasure, not business. Mel and I went to Des Moines to see The Phantom of the Opera at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines. This was one of my Christmas presents to Mel this past Christmas. It was a really good show. While we were waiting to see the show, we noticed that Monty Python's Spamalot is coming to the Civic Center in July. I'd really love to see that show too, but unfortunately it won't fit into our schedules. After the show, we had a scrumptious dinner at Romano's Macaroni Grill before returning home.

Fox News Alert: Hairstyles of the '70s

At a press conference this afternoon, the two men charged in yesterday's advertising stunt gone wrong in Boston tried to educate the press about hairstyles of the 1970s. The press seemed quite frustrated with the pair, but when your lawyer tells you not to discuss a pending case, I think that's probably good advice. I did like how one reporter did actually ask a question regarding the case in a way to elicit a response. He had to phrase his question in the form of a hair issue.

Done!

We finished up with our meetings up in Minnesota late this afternoon. However, we did finish a bit too late today to go home tonight, so we will be leaving for home tomorrow morning. This gave me the opportunity to have dinner with my sister and a friend of ours, Martha. Because I didn't want to leave the others I came to the Twin Cities with stranded, my sister picked me up from my hotel and we went to a Red Robin restaurant for dinner. We got there a little after 6:00, but it was around 6:30 until Martha arrived. After dinner, we sat at the restaurant talking for a while, so I didn't get back to the hotel until around 8:30.