I took the day off work to go to the dentist. My recently filled tooth had been bothering me on Monday, so I was certain a root canal was in order. But, thankfully, the dentist advised against that and I was home by 10am to do anything but work. So, I updated all the album art on iTunes. Then, just dicked around the house.
{Not my mouth}
That evening, San and I ate dinner at Braun's to celebrate our 3rd year of blissful marriage. I had won tickets to the night's Nuggets game for donating $30 to the United Way; the tickets were for the Comcast suite. We're not big basketball fans, so it was kind of like, "Engh." But, amazingly, San suggested we go! With an 8:30 start time, we left at halftime to go home. Rather boring, in my opinion. But, man, I tells ya - a $6 beer is so much better than one from a six pack that costs $5.
Saturday, November 6th ~
Today, I attended Boot Camp for Dads. A class offered by KaiserPermanente that essentially brings soon-to-be first-time dads together with a certified "coach" and "Veteran Dads" who gives us words of advice. The two veteran dads brought in their 4 month old daughters. Within 15 minutes, 2 random dudes were chosen to change the diaper on each little hija. It was a great class, that had great information on what to look forward to with a newborn on the way.
Sunday, November 7th ~
Today, San attended a co-worker's baby shower. For me, today was "Clean the Damn Basement" day. Recently, I had been sitting at the computer checking out porn...er, uh...politics...when a strange, winged bug fell in front of me. I was like, "What the hell?!" I thought nothing more of it, until another winged bug did the same thing mere minutes later. Then, I was like, "What the flurge?!! Termites?!" But, after some quick Googling, it turned out to be an infestation of flying ants. The lesser of two evils. So, cleaning the basement, I found a crack in the foundation that was a virtual ant civilization - complete with a Starbucks, post-office and medicinal marijuana store. Well, the civilization is now decimated thanks to the hurricane power of the Hoover vacuum. The crack has been caulked and no other winged creatures have shown their freakish selves. Yet. Muhahahhahhha!
Wednesday, November 10th ~
Tonight was the monthly Alumni dinner, where we get together with San's UoP classmates for food and catchin-up. Attended by Jeremy, Linda and her beau Jeff, Lauren and her beau Peter, we met at the Phoenician Kabob - a tasty place that serves Mediterranean food. I had the Gyros and San had a kabob. Enough food for 2 meals. Many thanks to Linda and Jeff for the baby gift!
Friday, November 12th ~
Today, San and I both did truncated days at the office - working is for chumps, I tells ya! We had the family over for boxed-lasagna and bagged-salad. But, San did make a Pear Upside Down Cake that was fantastic, so that balances out the food universe. My two favorite aunts (that is to say, favorites from Ste. Genevieve and Wildwood, MO, respectively) are in town to attend Saturday's baby shower. It was a great time catching up and looking at old Behrns family photos and funny home videos. We received more baby outfits from our cousins Laura and Ashley. Baby JJ's wardrobe is now approaching San's in size!
Saturday, November 13th ~
The following is actual video from a baby shower that featured "the best spread {of food}" according to sources who attended said baby shower.
Thursday, November 25th {Thanksgiving & My 37th Year Celebration}
Friday, November 26th ~
I found this video while trying to get through Friday at work. Who doesn't like a good, nay great, cat fight?
Baby JJ continues to grow! We have begun the nesting process in the spare room - Baby JJ's future home. So far, we've only taken down the pictures and boxed-up San's school papers. {And, when I say "we", I mean "San"}. But, we will soon add a fresh coat of paint and decide how to fit all the things a baby needs into a spare room built in 1910, what a small space.
Well, September 2010 came and went.
A lot happened that month ~
We had our bathroom updated by Dupre Construction - a fine firm out of Eagle, CO. I would highly recommend this company to anyone looking to have some work done around their home. Many thanks to Blair to making our bathroom much less like a restroom you'd find in a dive bar. Here are some before & after pics of what was once a disgusting, embarrassing lavatory. I'll sure miss that electrical tape over the crack in the shower.
The last weekend of September, San allowed me to get away with Mike D and Devin so as to spend some time fishing with the boys. And drinking. Water. And whiskey. Oh, and some beer.
Meanwhile, San got together with Jessica and Ma and Sadie and Max and Sally and her ma and cousin Jenny and cousin Alex. Here are some pics from their painting party.
The following is a video documentary of the men's fishin' trip ~
That's about it!
Hope all is well with all who read this far (and, I suppose, those who don't).
San and I met Jessica and the kids up near Tarryall on Saturday afternoon for a night of camping.
We presented Max with his birthday gift - a worm farm.
We played frisbee for awhile. Max, although using an unconventional throw, was quite accurate with the thing. Sadie was starting to understand the dynamics of the frisbee, but still needs some work.
The night was pleasant. We saw a few shooting stars. I was finally able to use the iPhone app, Planets, to locate constellations in the southern sky.
San and I slept awful. So, we've determined that our next purchase, when we camp again, will definitely be an air mattress.
Sunday, we packed up and took County Road 211 to Goose Creek campground. The Hayman burn is still, well, a burn.
We got the fishing rods ready and hiked in about 1/2 mile and fished. I almost caught one out of a tiny hole. He was on the line, but quickly got off. Oh well...
This afternoon, on my way to put a bag of trash in our bin in the alley, I found the bin gone. Stolen by (I can only guess) some waste of a human being. Uggh. I am truly thinking of stopping all mortgage payments on this property and getting the family the hell out of this white trash area I have come to call Englehood. But, as San said, "Probably someone who needed the trash can more than we did." Always the optimist. So, I called Waste Management and the customer service girl tells me, "Oh, we don't track the serial numbers on those." And, "You don't need to put your trash in a bin." Well, no wonder so much garbage ends up on our front yard! And the alley? Well, it looks like the images I've seen of Baghdad. So, who gives a shit? Right? I'm just going to put my garbage, in a cheap plastic bag, in the alley where all manner of city animals (humans included, here) are free to tear it open and strew the waste about. Apparently, no one else on our block has any issue with it...
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All that crap after a wonderful weekend away from the Hood.
San & Ossi & I joined Mike D & Hanna up at the Dupre family cabin - which has now been aptly named Stone Creek. (Stoney Creek was a close second, I hear.) San & I both took a day off work to make a long weekend out of it. Unfortunately, Mike Sr. and Molly were out of town, in Boston, at a wedding; it's always a pleasure to see those two.
We arrived Friday afternoon. The cabin is having some renovations done - river stone from the surrounding land is being masoned around the foundation. It looks great. The stonemason, whose name I did not catch, mentioned to me that he grew up in the D.U. area and, up until eight years ago, lived in Littleton. "Lost about half my income moving up here to Buena Vista." I said, "But you've got all this," and motioned to the surrounding mountains. And he strongly agreed.
San and Hanna waited at the cabin for a chimney sweep to arrive. Mike and I drove into town to get groceries and for me to see about getting fixed a broken fly-rod I had purchased from Ark Angler's a few years ago. Now, the man who works at the Ark Angler's is one curmudgeony old bastard. At least, he comes off that way. Anyway, I walk in, go up to the counter, and I say, "I purchased this rod from here, from you in fact, and the male ferrule is broken." And this grumpy old fart just sat there glaring at me. So, I took the butt section out of the case and pointed it out to him.
"Well, how did that happen?" He inquired.
I said, "Well, I was fishing with it and it kept sliding off. I kept putting it back, but on one cast, it finally came off and snapped on a forward cast."
He eyed me suspiciously and said, "This can't be fixed."
"So what do I do? Throw it in your trash?"
He glared at me. "Go get the one of the others right there," he said and pointed across the shop.
I returned with it and asked, "Do I need to put some ferrule wax on this one, then?"
This really got his blood boiling. "No! Don't put wax on it! It's not designed that way."
At this point, Mike walked up to the counter and said "First fly-shop I been in that has lures under the counter." There was a deafening silence. We both thought that this man was going to reach across the glass showcase and punch Mike in the face. Mike laughed nervously, stating, "I'm sorry! Didn't mean to offend you, man!"
"Well, that's what the owner wanted! He also wanted that damn cooler full of water and soda! But who am I to question him? I'd be out on my ass if I did that!" At this point, you could tell that this man just wanted to smile. It was so close to breaking through; as close as BP capping a spewing oil-well on day 2. While Mike payed for his leader, I quickly grabbed some flies, payed up and we left.
Now, here's the truth behind that fishing rod. Two years ago, I was fishing with it for, maybe, the second time in its life. The ferrules were coming apart. To the point where I was getting pissed. On one stupid move to change the direction of my cast, my fly line got tangled in the sunglasses sitting on the brim of my hat. Well, I'd had enough of this. I spastically tried to untangle the line, first knocking my sunglasses into the water (and they floated away to freedom), and then cracking the ferrule to the point where it didn't even kind of stay together. So, going back to the return of the rod, the angry old man says, "What do you expect for seventy dollars?" And I retorted, "For it to last forever?" Anyway, I have a brand new fly rod (which I will use wax on).
When Mike & I returned, the chimney sweep was at the cabin. As we approached he kicked out his leg, bowed and said "Cherry-o! Have you seen Mary Poppins?!" Just kidding, but I was hoping he would.
Mike and I geared up and headed out to fish Chalk Creek. Now, I had purchased some new waders. I went with some rubber hip waders (see: me model them in the video) and I beamed with excitement to try them out. So, we get down to the creek and at the first good hole, I step into the water and I start slipping around like an ice-capades freak and fall into the current. The waders fill up with icy water and I nearly break my rod trying to catch myself. Mike chuckled on the bank. "What the hell was that all about?!" I wondered. Was it because there might be some factory oil on the rubber to protect it from drying out? Maybe?! Well, any and all theories were shot as the next day these waders continued to make me feel like I was walking on ice. I went back to the cabin, took them off, put on my running shoes, and never slipped again. In another matter of annoyance, they rubbed my shins raw.
Interesting side note here - there is a marijuana grow operation just downstream from the cabin. An open-air structure with glass or plastic windows on the roof. Apparently, there is a sign telling people they are being videotaped and that this is a legal operation.
Friday night, we all loaded in the car and headed up the hill and parked at this historic school to get a better view of the Perseid meteor shower. You could not have asked for a better night, the sky as clear as new glass. We probably saw about 25 meteors ending their life in the Earth's atmosphere. San, Mike and Hanna had never seen a shower before, so I was glad that they were able to experience this one.
Saturday, we fished again. San relaxed at the cabin. Hanna accompanied the men and was promoted to videographer for the day. We worked our way upstream from the cabin and found that this part of Chalk Creek is really only fishable for about a 1/2 mile. So, we hiked down again and, in true dry-fly fisherman protocol, fished upstream.
Saturday night, after a fantastic dinner of Mike D's famous ribs, he built a fire out in the fire pit. More meteors could be seen through the small space of sky allotted through the tops of the pines. Everything was wonderful. That is until Hanna mentioned Eminem. I hate that guy! - one of the true celebrity assholes. If he had a child with Lindsey Lohan, the devil would certainly be manifested. As the Bible says, "judgeth a man and thee usually be correcteth." Or something.
San & Ossi & I left Sunday around 11am and returned to the city, to our home - that now had no trash bin...
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Baby JJ Update - everything is going as planned. San is constantly feeling her moving around! And I say "her" because at our 18 week ultrasound, the doctor was 90% certain it was a girl. His resident felt 95% certain. I've felt her a couple times now. It's crazy! Crazy cool. Anyway, if you would like to suggest a baby name, please do so in the comments section. If we end up using your suggested name, you will win a weekend of babysitting! Offer not valid in Louisiana.
Jessica and I flew out to Phoenix on Monday the 19th to attend Mike's memorial service on Tuesday. When I walked into the memorial, I just wanted to burst into tears. They had set up a large screen with projected pictures of Mike as a baby, then as a young boy, then a star athlete, onto a loving father and finally a man whose cancer was taking over. I had to step outside again after only minutes to call San and that's when I did cry like a blubbering baby. It was the only time I ever preferred to be outside in the sweltering heat of Phoenix, then to be indoors and air-conditioned.
What a great service. Darren Pang, of hockey fame, announced the service and told many humorous tales of life with Mike. Then a pastor lead us all in prayer.
Then, Jeanette said her thoughts, followed by Jenni, Alex and Mike's brother Todd. Darren told more stories. A man named Glen spoke, as well. Then a man named Scott who Mike knew from cancer treatments, and whose cancer is now in remission, gave a powerful speech. Paulina and a young man on the acoustic guitar performed a beautiful song. It was all so wonderful and heart-wrenching at the same time. Then all who attended had drinks and celebrated Mike's life - just as Mike would have wanted it.
So, on Wednesday the family and friends met again at Janet and Wayne's old house, which is now the abode of Uncle Greg. We drank beers, swam in the pool, ate tacos and continued to reminisce. Then on Wednesday night, as Dad, Jessica, Ori and I arrived back at dad's house, I slammed my thumb in the car door.
Yesterday (Saturday), with building blood pressure in my thumb, drastic measures had to be taken to alleviate the pain. The following video documents these measures. Warning - Quite Disgusting
Last night we received the news that we lost our Uncle Mike to cancer. He was a true fighter - when first diagnosed, the doctor's gave him 6 months; he lived for four years. Our condolences go out to Aunt Jeanette, Jenny, Alex, Bobby, the Brown family and all who knew Mike.
As Johnny Cash once sang, "I'll meet you further on up the road."
Yesterday also brought some good news. We attended our 16 week baby doctor appointment. Baby JJ is looking good. In fact, he made his acting debut -
In other July news, on Saturday, July 10th, San graduated from the University of Phoenix with a Bachelor of Science in Human Services. I'm so proud of her. I'll tell you this - when San puts her mind to something, she gets it done! Never has she half-assed anything.
We threw a BBQ in honor of San's graduation and, in preparation for the event, I had to stop some hornets from making their new home in our old bird feeder.
Well, that's about it. Life is right now so bittersweet with the passing of Mike and our child in the womb. C'est la vie, así es la vida..
Well, we finally did it - the big "P". For "Pregnant". San informed me early on the morning of Thursday, April 29th, that the home test was positive. I want to apologize to San right away, for not showing an amount of excitement equal to hers; I have two excuses - 1) our previous miscarriage 2) I was sick as hell.
[San here-- My excitement was more confusion than anything. For one, we weren't "trying" and two, I didn't know that the (+) in the pregnancy test window meant you were pregnant. Of course a (+) logically means positive, but I thought I was seeing things. I ran out of the bathroom to get the pregnancy test box and read the directions. Who reads pregnancy test directions? I did. I couldn't believe what I was reading. I was knocked up!]
But then, on May 5th, we went in for an ultrasound. And there in all of his/her shining glory was a tiny little spec of a human with a visual heart beat! I felt a shiver envelop my entire being. San shed tears of joy.
The irony here is that we had kind of given up on the idea of being parents. So, once again, Murphy's Law has prevailed.
We return to the doctor's office on May 27th for the 9 week ultrasound to make sure everything is on track; and so far, so good - San is suffering from morning sickness, as well as afternoon sickness and evening sickness.
As of now, we refer to the little one as JJ.
MAY 27th, 2010 ~
We attended the doctor's office today for the 9 week check-up. The nurse practitioner performed a doppler analysis and this was the first time we heard little JJ's heartbeat. Like a powerful locomotive it was - chugging it's way through the first stages of life! She then performed an on-the-belly (technical term, here) ultrasound and then an in-the-belly ultrasound.
JUNE 8th, 2010 ~
We are now at 11 weeks, as of today. Or, DEFCON 1...still. We went to Target the other day and looked at baby crap. Dear lord. Guess that's what baby showers are for.
San here--We are now in week 12 and have officially started sharing our happy news with family and friends. My belly is slowly starting to show although it feels ginormous already, maybe it's just bloating. They say gas is a given. Now I can give Chris a run for his money.
I typically fall asleep right after feeding, around 7:30pm. The misery of morning sickness continues, I hate everything I once liked, like everything I once hated, I'm eating pickles more and more. I look forward to the end of morning sickness and starting the second trimester, to an expanding belly, and overall to finding a good name for JJ. Here's what we have come up with so far:
Boy: Ace, Rocco, Leviticus, Samsonite, JimmyJamesJoJuJu, or Chuy (after my crazy cousin)
Girl: Tawanduh, Crayola, Barbarella, Maria de Englewood, Barakabush, or Pájama (French for beautiful night sky)
All these names fit well with the last name Jones so we're having a tough time narrowing our list down.
You'll know what we decide on or around 12/28/10.
On Saturday, May 29th, the boys and I ditched our significant others, geared up and fished the Blue River below the dam at Green Mountain Reservoir and subsequently, Lower Cataract Lake which is situated west, above the reservoir.
San & I spent Memorial Day weekend refinishing the kitchen cabinets. The things were stained and varnished and only made our kitchen look drab. Plus, our kitchen only has a small north-facing window and a new coat of Oyster colored paint helped to brighten the room.
So, without further ado, is the actual documented event, in all its glory!
Well, Ossi didn't get a new leg, per se. But, he did get a new ACL. Well, fishing line, per se. He had what I'll call reconstructive surgery, where the surgeon used 100-pound-test nylon to re-create his ACL. All that for the low, low price of 1,500 dollars! (Who needs an up-to-date kitchen?!)
San dropped him off at Tendertouch Animal Hospital on Friday morning of April 30th. He underwent surgery that day. I visited him that evening - he was stoned to the gills. Instead of using the vet tech, he weened himself off his morphine drip by chewing through the line sometime that evening. San & I picked him up Saturday at 2:30pm.
He is alive and well, if not unhappy that he can't spaz-out on his sister Stella or scratch furiously at the fence whilst the neighbor dog takes a leak or, generally, have any fun at all.
Tomorrow he goes in to have his epidural patch removed. In 7 to 10 days, he will have his sutures removed.
Laura and Ashley visited over Easter weekend. San and I met up with them on Saturday at Red Rocks, along with Ma, Bob, Jessica and the kids. We hiked around , enjoyed the scenery and the wonderful weather. Ossi and Stinky came along, too. Here's some video of the event ~
One of the most stressful aspects of our lives lately has been the lump we found on San's breast. So, I can now safely say that his has been removed and it was only fatty lymphoma. The procedure took 30 minutes and San was back to her old self in 2 days.
San also celebrated her 30th birthday, again. We threw a party at Dave & Buster's - which is too much money for the sub-par food and regular old beer and wine. Here's some video of that ~
Ossi will be going in for ACL surgery on April 30th. He tore his ACL around the time we went to St. Louis for Missy and Cody's wedding. So, since he's so young, (2 years old) the vet recommend we get this fixed. Bye bye tax refund.
The latest story, and one that I am still recovering from, is my attempt to catch some air while skiing in the Kid Corral at Beaver Creek. The day began well enough. Mike D and I left from the condo and headed up the hill to spend some time cruising the slopes. We met up with Blair at the top of the lift and did some runs at Bachelor Gulch. We worked our way over to the main mountain, and after deciding to hit the Rose Bowl, I decided to hit the Kid Corral. Well, there in front of me was a small jump that was connected to a drainage pipe that one could, in theory, ride their board or sticks across in an effort to look cool. I decided that I would go off the jump to the side of the pipe. Well, I approached at a reasonable rate of speed, hit the jump and STOP! My left ski stuck to the drainage pipe and, I, flying out of said ski, landed face first on the hard-pack snow. Oh, the pain! The wind was knocked from me! I literally saw stars swirling through my vision! I received the complimentary, "Are you okay?" from a skier who quickly sailed past. I watched in pain as a 12-year-old rode his snowboard effortlessly across the pipe. Mike and Blair, wondering where the hell I had gone, found me lying in agony. It took all the effort in the world for me to pull myself up, fix my tweaked ski binding and get back to the slopes. We skied the Rose Bowl and, luckily, Blair and Mike thought ahead and a Pabst Blue Ribbon on the lift ride back up helped to ease the pain. So, that all occurred at like 9:30 in the morning. We skied until 3, or so. This all occurred on February 13th; today is April 5th and the pain is still there, though not quite so much and not so everywhere in my rib cage. I did not go to the doctor until the following Tuesday when she prescribed me a bottle of Percocet.
I have learned my lesson, and it is this - I am an old man and the Kid Corral is named that way for a reason. I found out the other day, that the drainage pipe terrain park feature has since been removed.
I took the week off and sat around the house in my underwear whilst playing with my joystick.
We hosted Christmas Eve dinner, as per tradition. It was attended by Ma and Bob, Jessica and the kids, and we invited Polly and Debbie from across the street.
The plan was to have everyone play Beatles Rock Band; but by the time dinner was served, and we had all eaten, I was far too bloated to motivate myself to motivate anyone else. Truth be told, I had to go to the other room and fart on many occasions. And they were loud, long farts that reduced my body weight by 2-3 pounds each time I released them.
So, instead, we tortured Maxwell with loud noises. We had given Sadie 'Party Poppers' in her stocking. And, when the first one went off, Max's spasms of fear and hatred exploded! See the following video ~
On Christmas, San and I opened gifts in the morning. She got me a new apron and a cookbook on Crockpot recipes - this does not make me a pussy in any way, only more of a man. I got her some clothes and a new one carat diamond ring! Okay, okay cubic zirconium. But it did cost nearly 8 dollars!! (Or two weeks salary).
The gift giving between us was rather light, but that's only because a month before we bought one of them Wii thingy's that make you get up off your ass and play video games. It's fun! And addictive! Now, all I do after work is come home, turn on the Wii, play tennis against computer animated losers and curse at them like they are red-headed step-children with weight gain issues.
Jessica hosted Christmas. She made a delicious dinner of prime rib roast.
Finally, after dinner was over, we were able to open more gifts! Giving is okay, but receiving is certainly the shit.
On New Year's Eve, we had decided to make it a chill one: relax on the couch and maybe watch a movie, maybe make-out. We did go over to Peterson's house for a stew dinner. And we left there around 8ish. We came home, put on our pajama's and watched some Native American stand-up comedy special. Then we received a call from the Ulmer's informing us they would be arriving within the hour [insert Jaws theme song].
Okay, so by this point, I had had a beer, half a bottle of champagne, more beers, a coupe glasses of white wine, and when the Ulmer's arrived, I had more beer. Then the inevitable New Year's hour of midnight arrived and I had more champagne - and, please note, champagne with fucking gold in it (thanks(?) to Sue for that Christmas gift)! Que borracho! Next thing I know, I am knocking Tina to the floor as I try to say "Happy New Year!" or "Goodbye!" I cannot remember, and then...vomit. Sitting, or swaying rather, on the side of the bath tub as vomit flowed from my mouth into the toilet. The horror.
The following video was shot approximately one hour before the violent, painful ejection of Peterson's stew ~
