Bring It On!

Far be it for me to put much stock in these fun little quizzes, but I can't help but feel slightly validated.

You Will Be a Cool Parent

You seem to naturally know a lot about parenting, and you know what kids need. You can tell when it's time to let kids off the hook, and when it's time to lay down the law. While your parenting is modern and hip, it's not over the top. You know that there's nothing cool about a parent who acts like a teenager... or a drill sergeant!

Would You Be a Cool Parent?

One Last Gig

So in the months I've spent searching for full time employment, I earned some extra money as an independent contractor for various staffing companies. I had one last job today. Easiest money I ever made. This PA based staffing company hired me to install a printer and wireless router for the local Army Recruiter office. I had set up the equipment, make sure it worked, then box up the old printer for recycling. When I got there, everything was already set up! One laptop couldn't print though. All I had to do was change the systems default printer setting. There wasn't even any old hardware to box up! The staffing company said they'd still pay me! $35 for a half-hour of my time. Not bad, not bad...

On an unrelated note, I must say that I left the Army Recruiter Office wondering how they ever convince anyone to sign up. Every third word out of the sergeant's mouth was an expletive. Plus he let out two really loud farts. I have nothing against the Army, I support our troops and everything, but if that guy represents today's US Soldier than no wonder they have so much trouble getting kids to enlist. It stands to reason that if you work for an organization or company, you represent that group. Swearing and passing gas like you were at home watching football in your underwear is unacceptable behavior regardless of where you work. It that really a difficult concept to understand?

I'm No Longer A Bum!

I finally have a new job! After 5 months of endless resumes, cover letters, interviews and follow-ups, I finally have gainful full time employment! Whoo-Hoo! After being interviewed yesterday morning, I was offered the job that afternoon. Starting March 1st, I will be a PC Technician for theLCC Corporation, a local technical support company that's about a mile from where I live. It's better pay than I was making at Guardian Angel, decent benefits, and a great work environment.

There's nothing worse than being unemployed when you have a child on the way. When I left Guardian Angel, I never thought it would take this long to find something new. I will not go through that again!

Hooray for gainful employment!

My What Lovely Elbows You Have!

It's time for another baby update! We had another ultrasound yesterday. So far things are good - baby is at 4 pounds and growing. The picture here is the only shot we got. I swear this kid does this on purpose, or camera shy. It looks like its doing a sit up, doesn't it? You can see the face at least between the two arms. And no, the one arm isn't a hollow stump - that's just where technology decided to stop working. Only about 7 weeks left to go!

Fun With Food

There are many people, like myself, who love J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. Some people, however, take this love to strange extremes. God bless them for that. In honor of this recent find, I present my top 3 favorite websites devoted to things people have done with food:

#3: Turning pumpkins into computers

#2: Animal testing of Marshmallow Peeps

And my favorite thus far...

#1: Grocery Store Wars

And I thought I had too much time on my hands...

No Love For Sacagawea

Golden George

So the U.S. Mint is catering to numismatists again, this time printing new golden dollar coins with each of our country's Presidents on them. That's cool and all, but what I really want to point out from this article is the 3rd paragraph:

"I think it's cool because we get to see a coin with the first president on it," said 7-year-old Jack Garbus, an avid coin collector and second-grader..."

OK, I know I should cut the kid some slack because he's only a second grader, but since he collects coins, you'd think he would have seen a quarter before! I'm sorry, it's the teacher in me, but now and again kids say things that really make me question our education system. Reminds me of the former student I had who thought Mark Twain was Shania Twain's husband...

If the U.S. wanted to market cool dollars, they should steal Canada's idea and make really cool multi-colored bills.

A Year of Babies

First of all, congratulations to my friends Paul and Jess, who became parents for the first time on Tuesday.

On the same day my wife and I find out about the the birth of my best friend's son, we find out that Meredith's best friend is pregnant. Another one to add to the list. Since February 2006, there have been roughly 14 births/pregnancy announcements among our collective family and friends, including ourselves of course. That's a lot. Starting with Paul and Jess, I think there's a baby due every month for the next 5 or 6 months. Yikes.

Speaking of pregnancies, Meredith is doing fine. Baby K is kicking up a storm now, and we get to go for another ultrasound next week. And for those who haven't heard yet, we picked a boy's middle name. Despite the polls favoring James, we're going with Xavier. So Victoria Grace/Mathias Xavier has less than 10 weeks until arrival.