My Baby

Thursday is Sadies birthday. She will be one year old. We didn't adopt her until May 5th(Cinco de Mayo, Yes Sadie is huge in Mexico). This is her baby picture, before we adopted her.










This Is shortly after we adopted her. She is helping Kristi work on her masters thesis. She has been a blessing in our lives. We know she's a dog. But, she's our dog and is 1/3 of our family. Everyone in the family has a role to play. Sadie has made family security her job. Here she is on front porch patrol making sure the perimeter is secure. We haven't had any cats or squirrels in our yard in months.



She is wearing her "Kiss Me I'm Irish" collar in anticipation of St. Patricks day.

When we got her she weighed 8 pounds and had rickets. She is now 72 and is in prime physical condition. She has brought us more happiness and laughs than we ever dreamed. If we ever have kids they'll have a tough act to follow. Happy Birthday to my baby girl!

Better Late Than Never

Well, Mardi Gras was a couple of weeks ago. It was a great weekend, Mainly because I was off work for a whole week. Also because we got to spend time with family and friends. Tom & Jeri (seriously) Got a hotel room on St. Charles Ave which we used as headquarters for the festivities. Steve, Mary and the girls came down from Baton Rouge. Patricia, Thornton and the kids came in from Seattle AND Steve and Jeanine(Sorry J, I'm not sure which spelling you use) came in from the "Emerald City" as well. So yes, there were lots of people coming in and out. BUT, it doesn't stop there. Aunt Wanda & her posse had a room in the same hotel. This, of course means I got to see many beautiful faces from multiple sides of the family.

Speaking of Birthdays

Last wednesday I took Sadie to the vet for her 6 month check-up. Dr. Diaz said she looks GREAT. Sadie is in perfect health and is a beautiful dog (those were the words of the trained professional, but I already knew it). Sadie has been on Science Diets large breed puppy food since we got her and I swear by it. But her birthday is on the 15th and I was wondering how long I should keep her on it. The Doc said I could start switching her over to adult formula now. I almost cried when she told me that. My baby is growing up so fast. I haven't started the switch yet. I want her to stay daddy's baby a little longer.

The Piano Man

So, monday was Kristi's birthday. She turned 27. Seeing as how I am 32 I guess that makes me a bit of a stud. But, that's not the point of this post. One of her presents was tickets to see Billy Joel in concert the day after her birthday. Now, you may not know it but Billy's music has a special place in our relationship second only to the Beatles. As many of you may recall, she walked down the aisle to "She's got a way", the words of which are all true. We spent many evenings listening to Billy and talking, getting to know each other in the first few months of our relationship. His music is a major part of the soundtack of our love.

She was very excited to go, which is good because it wasn't cheap. Our seats were great. on side of the stage but very close. It didn't hurt that we could see Drew Brees on the opposite side of the stage (Kristi has a mild crush, but it helps me watch more football so I don't complain). At any rate, It was Awsome. If you get the chance to see him take advantage of it. I know he's getting a little older now and the hair is gone, but the energy is there, the piano skills are there and thank God the vocal skills are still there. It was one of the, no, the best concert I've been to. He sang all of the hits you wanna hear and some of his rarities that hardcore Billy fans would love.

It was a great present for Kristi. She smiled alot and that made it all worth it to me. But it should also be said that I am a bigger fan than she is so it was a great present for me too. I should also thank my mom. She landed us the tickets (to aid in the suprise) and with a friend of hers from work, came with us. Jeri is a crazy woman and she had a blast as well. We were happy to have her and Mrs. Cathy with us. All in all it was an amazing night. we were all in the mood for a melody...and billy had us feelin' alright.

Happy Sadie Gras!

So, last Sunday we took Sadie to the "Krewe of Mutts" parade here in Baton Rouge. These are some of the pictures we took while we were there (there are several more pictures on Kristi's blog, just click her link). It was alot of fun. There were lots of families, lots of kids and yes, lots of dogs. Sadie-head wanted to play with them all. She was really excited, probably overwhelmed, when we first arrived. She settled down after a while. She did great until a little brass band passed by, then she tried to climb on top of me. she calmed down once she saw that instead of throwing bead many people were throwing dog treats. We found a nice place to watch the parade in between to yellow labs and a yellow lab mix. It looked like we were one big yellow lab group. Sadie made several friends, we met a lot of nice people and their dogs. It was comforting to know that we are not the only ones who are obsessed with their dog. Did I mention that my beautiful wife, once a cat person, is now suggesting that we rescue a second dog. We'll talk about that after Mardi Gras passes. For privacy reasons I'm not going to say who got to know the police at the parade. Sadie and i have an understanding that what happens at Mardi Gras-stays at Mardi Gras.

We are probably gonna enter Sadie in the parade next year. she'll be the one with the "show your teets" sign. Sorry, I just couldn't pass up that joke.

HAPPY MARDI GRAS!!!!

School Dazed and Confused

Well, School has been back in session for two and a half weeks now. Last semester I got off to a really slow start and had to catch up on a half semesters work in the last two weeks. I fared well but those two weeks were rough for everyone here at the house. I told myself that I wasn't going to to that again this semester but it I am close to falling into that rut again. I think that this post will actually help me to get motivated and get off to a good start. One of the main problems is the cost of text books. I have 5 classes that require me to spend at least $100.00 each for books. Now, it is possible to by used books off the internet for much lower but I'm still figuring between $250 and $350 all totaled. As you know we don't exactly have a lot of dough to be throwing around so I am reluctant to order these books which means I am not doing all the reading I'm supposed to. You can see where this causes a problem. so, tonight I will force myself to sit here at the computer for a while and order the damned books.

I need to suck it up and spend the money. Don't misunderstand me, we're not broke or in debt, we just don't have much extra money. We can afford the books, but if I have the books then I can't use that as an excuse to not read. Those who know me are well aware that I have spent a lot of time in school. I am burned out. I am tired of it. I don't feel like it is benefiting me anymore. It was a benefit and i have learned alot, but i feel like their is nothing else they can do to prepare me for my career as an educator. But, there are requirements I must meet so off I go twice a week from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. I am taking 16 hours this semester. that's actually the fewest i have taken since the spring of 2005 (15). I can handle the classes, they are not hard by any means. I just don't have the motivation I need right now to get the work done.

What I have mentioned so far seems a little negative so let me assure you that I will not fail these classes ( I know that's what you were thinking). I am scheduled to do my student teaching in the fall. After this semester I have 2 classes to take this summer. I have already complted my education classes and all of my upper level social studies classes (minus 1 history class that I'll take this summer, I've made an A in every college history class I have ever taken<>

The problem here is that I am ready to start teaching. It is my passion and I am excited abouted it. So much so that I can't focus on what I am doing now because I am looking past now and into the future. I need to focus on the task at hand and take care of this semester. I'm just ready to be done. Don't worry, I'll get it done. I feel better already. maybe i could send Sadie to school for me, she likes books. She's even eaten several of them!

The Saints go marching in and we will go marching on!

So, I just wrote this really nice blog entry about he Saints season and the great effect it had on the city and the region. But, when i went to spellcheck it all went away. I am too aggravated to recompose it It would lack the emotion that the original had so let me just sum it up.
the Saints had a great season and have inspired all of us in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region. It may just be a football team to others around the country but down here the team isn't just the guys you see on the field, its the grandmother at home yelling at the TV, it's the little kid who wears his Deuce jersey to school and breaks the uniform code, It's the college professor who won't count students absent the day after the big monday night game. Its a team of thousands who live and fight for each other. If your not apart of it you will not understand what I am writing. But for those of you who are near to it you know that as go the Saints, so got the weather, finding money in the dryer and the crime rate.
This season manythings were changed and the saints were winners. That "never say die" attitude (thank you Walter Payton) has carried over to the citizens of the region and those currently displaced. The Saints have built a soild foundation on which to build for next year and we will continue to rebuild our homes, our schools, our business, our lives. But not the way it was. Like the Saints we will clean house, work hard, and build a winning city and region.
If you know what it means to miss New Orleans, then get to work and bulid the home of your dreams.

In the above post i used the word bulid instead of rebuild because the slate is clean and to rebuild implies i return to what was. I favor a return to what should have been and now can be. If at first you don't succeed, tear the damn thing down and build a better one.

Christmas and the Saints

I was one of the lucky ones who got to go to the Saints playoff game against the Eagles. The catch was that I had to sit with my mom. She is actually pretty cool to sit with. She knows a good bit about the game and will voice her opinion when she feels the need. It was a very enjoyable evening. But you can tell that 40 years of losing takes a toll on a person. The Saints were leading by 7 with about 9 minutes left in the 4th and the Eagles were driving. Our seats were in the upperdeck in the endzone. the Eagles had the ball third and one at the 5 yard line. Everyone in the dome is standing and screaming in support of the defense. I turned to my left only to see my mom sitting down watching the game on the jumbo screen. I asked what she was doing and she said she didn't want to see the Eagles score. "This is the playoffs woman, get up and support your team" was my reply. she did and Scott Fujita made a great stop forcing the Eagles to kick a feild goal. As we all know the saints won the game. Maybe it was that one extra voice. Everyone down here in the New Orleans area is buzzing about our boys, even Sadie is showing her spirit.

We went to Oklahoma for a couple days after Christmas to see my Dad, Janet, Stephanie "Q", and Poppy. It was fun. Tulsa may not be Vegas or any thing but it is a nice town-and clean. We were there during a warm spell between two blizzards. we only had to wear coats one day. Its a long drive and was Sadies first experience with long distance travel-11 hours. Prior to this her long was only an hour and a half. She did great. She only got fidgety when were delayed by a wreck outside of Norman Ok. I think they flipped over the "Sooner Schooner" and it took some "Cowboys" (OU/OSU joke) to get it rolling again. Every one was doing well. Dad and Janet took a liking to Sadie, they were probably sadder to see her go than Kristi and I. My dad (57) even got down on the floor to play with her. I had to take a picture because i am not even sure if there is a picture of him playing on the floor with one of his kids (kidding).

What I have learned over the last few weeks is two things.
1. There is nothing as important as family. Even if you don't see them or talk to them as often as you should, they are still a part of you. Love them, tell them you love them,show them you love them. try to see them more and be a part of each others lives. This goes for parents, siblings, children, grandparents, cousins, aunts& uncles, steps, halves, in-laws and outlaws. and with all of that said.........

2. All you can do is be you and do what you can with what you have. You can't make other people do anything or feel a certain way. you can't please everyone.

My very own Cujo!

Here are some pictures of Sadie and her play date with the dog next door. His name is Osiris "The Virus". Usually they run up and down the fence chasing each other. But, we occasionally like to let them play together. Osiris is about 15-20 pounds larger than Sadie but as you can see from the pictures, Sadie is the boss. The first picture is my favorite, like a shark attacking with her eyes rolled back in her head. They are actually very friendly. Both dogs are as sweet as could be. But, as you can see from the last picture (Osiris is leaning against the fence) Sadie is the undisputed ruler of the neighborhood, and daddy couldn't be prouder.

Thats What I'm Talking About

Satuday morning before the LSU vs. Tulane game Kristi and I took Sadie for a walk up on the levee. Just to the left of the bus in the pictures is a big lot for RV's and tailgating. This guy made a wrong turn and an even worse turn while attempting to turn around on river road. He got stuck real good. Now, normally I would take this oppurtunity to make fun of the guy and LSU in general but since kristi started working there I have been trying to stop saying negative things (I don't say good things yet, i just refrain from the bad). So, I'm not gonna mention the 10 or so guys who were behind the bus trying to push it out, especially not the geniuses who stood behind the bus while it was rolling back before they put there weight into it to get it back on the road. All I will say is that they were ultimately sucessfull (as you can see from the pictures). The wording on side the bus says "that's what I'm taking about". The only way it could have been more fitting is if it said "Get -R-Done".

The Worlds Largest Lap Dog!

Me and Sadie, chillin', eating breakfast watching sportcenter. She's a good dog. the other picture is of my little lap dog. all 55 pounds and growing. Ain't she a cute little thing.

A Dirty Story of a Dirty Man

So, its been a while since I've updated this thing. But who really reads this anyway. Well, just in case there is someone I thought I might share a little with you. For the last several years I have been questioning the restaurant Chili's. Kristi and I eat there from time to time. The walls are covered with signs and pictures from various chili cook offs and there are signs warning of hot chili. In other words, chili seems to be a major theme their. Well, this has troubled me for some time now seeing as how there is no chili on the menu. I found myself at a chili's on Tuesday. Once again I began to question the lack of actual chili. I asked the server about it and he informed me that there is chili in the building. As it turns out chili is one of the soups they offer. However, they do not mention there soups on the menu. This stands out it my mind for two reasons. The first being that he brought me a sample of it and it was like hormel straight out of the can. Its not very good, it may be best that they don't tell anyone about it. Second, the olive garden(that's where I work) advertises their soup on the menu and on television. Soup and salad is the cheapest thing for the OG to produce and is where the have the greatest profit margin. $5.95 for soup and salad that probably costs $1.00 per customer. Now I'm all in favor of capitalism and if people are willing to buy it at that price then let them. But hold on my friend. I support my family by making tips. 15% of 5.95 is much lower than 15% of an entree that costs (typically) at least twice as much as soup and salad. Not to mention that people love the fact that it is unlimited which means they ask for more than one bowl. Ask any server what they hate most and they will tell you its the soup and salad. Why because cheap people come in to get it, they run you to death, and then they leave you a 10% tip on a $6.00 bill. Perhaps I can learn something from chili's, hide the soup. If you love the soup and salad that's fine. Eat it, eat it all. Just remember that the nice young man who has four other tables and a wife and dog to support is paying his rent and tuition with the 60 cents you just left on the table.

ps. If you pay with your credit card and your bill is $15.23 give your server a 5.00 tip, don't write the tip in as $4.77 in order to make it an even &20.00. its tacky and makes you look cheap and petty, uh, I mean thrifty.

Two hours of nothing!

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So, Now that school is back in session at UNO andI live in Baton Rouge, I must spend several hours a week in the car commutinng. What I have learned is what i already knew: there is nothing good on the radio. Its like cable, a hundred channels and nothing to watch. The morning is by far the worst. Not only is there very little good music but from 6-10 most channels feature morning shows. Now, there have been some morning shows that I have enjoyed from time to time (steve and DC, Rick and Bubba, even Walton and Johnson) but, a) they are not funny or even entertaining ALL of the time and, b) this simply disguises the fact that there is no good music on. SO, i have done what many of you have done, placed my faith in the CD player. Here I am the judge and jury of what rocks. What I have determioned as that even the best and most beloved CD's in my collection get old if played constantly. But, There are several discs that you can put in and listen to the entire disc, as opposed to listening to the one good song and then taking it out and replacing it. Here is a short list of a couple of CD's that you can put in and let roll.

1. Ben Harper-Diamonds on the inside. This is a great CD of rock, blues and funk fused together for something uniqely original with a light dusting of gospel for spirit lifting rock. But don't misunderstand me, this is not christian music in the contemporary sense.

2.The Black Crows- Shake your money maker. Nothing but some good ol' down and dirty southern rock and blues, you may want to shower afterwards.

3.The Beastie Boys-lincense to ill. this may not appeal to all but if you are a guy between 28-38, you know what I'm talking about!

4.Third Day-Third Day, This is there debut album from somewhere around '95-'96. If you were just listening to the music you would think it was the black crows, hootie and the blowfish or even early U2, but the lyrics make this album better than church (unless van smeltzers leading singing).
And thats just a little something to think about when your stuck in traffic.

where are we?

So, you may be asking yourself where we are. Well, we are in Baton Rouge of all places. Let me bring you up to speed (for those i haven't spoken to in a while). We were living in Metairie, La. When Katrina hit. our apartment was destroyed, we stayed with my brother Steve and his wife for a month in baton rouge. Kristi & I enrolled for a semester at LSU, it was pleasant. After Christmas we moved to my mothers house in Slidell, into my childhood bedroom which is not nearly as large as it seemed when I was 10. Her house was flooded by 7 feet of water so it was like living in the middle of a construction site. in Febuary we moved into a FEMA trailer on the side of her house. Kristi graduated with her masters degree in history in May. She got a job working at LSU so we left the trailer and found a quaint little rental house here in Baton Rouge. I have a year left before i finish school at UNO. so i make the commute from B.R. to N.O. twice a week. I looked into transferring to LSU(its hard for me to admit that) but it would have added an extra year. So, i figure it's better to commute for one year than be in school for two. Kristi is working as a publicist at LSU press and I have taken up one of my former career choices and am slinging hash at the Olive Garden.
So, now you know where we are.
We got a dog on may the fifth(cinco de Mayo) her name is Sadie. she was 11 pounds when we got her. today she has reached the 50 pound mark. Ah-they grow up so fast.

Your Fearless Leader

Before we begin I suppose you should know a little bit about me and my reason for blogging. The simple truth is that I needed a place to post pictures of my dog, Sadie. I also thought it would be a good way to let friends and family Know what I have been up to.

I am 31, ha

This is Sadie! She is a cute one. Daddy's girl. She is 5 months old now and weighs about 45 pounds-Sturdy! i am staying in pretty good shape as she wakes me at 6:00 a.m. every day for her morning walk. you'll get to know her over time, and the wisdom of the swirls(you'll see).

I love to run, but the heat of summer is a killer and there are so many good sit-com reruns on the tv that I struggle with motivation. I am fightining two battles right now. One is to run on a consistent basis. It feels good when I get out there, but getting out the door is rough. The other battle is to motivate myself for my final year of school which starts next week. It's nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel but sometimes I can't help but look back at the wasted years and think how much easier things would have been if i'd have just got it right the first time. But, things would have been different, I know it is hard to see it when you look back, but sometimes where you are is exactly where you are supposed to be. I have Kristi now, and Sadie. I know that I am winning these 2 battles. The victory flag is on it way up, and to the victor goes the booty-i mean the spoils.

Hello, is there anybody out there?

So, this is a blog. And it's all mine. I welcome you all into the battle. you may be asking yourself what the battle is. Life, love, laughter. Day after day we fight the battle to make it to another day after day. There are new battles around every corner, so we fight them one at a time, lauging at adversity, loving the fight and those we encounter, living life on our own terms-hoping to make it to the next battle.