Mann of the House

Technology Part 2

2011-04-22T08:35:00.000-04:00

Okay, when did we make it ok to interact with each other via text for things like dating. First let me say, I am not dating anyone as I am happily married to a wonderful woman. But, her sister was just broken up with last night with a text message.

Now, I understand things do not always work out while dating and you have to go your separate ways, but to send someone a text message to do it is just wrong. I mean own up to the fact that you do not want to be with someone and tell them, to their face. In the case of a long distance relationship, maybe by phone. Now by long distance, I mean more than an hour driving time away. Let's get back to the time of communication with people not at people. There is a great song I was fortunate enough to hear coming in to work today that says,

"Teach me to number my days. To count every moment. Before it slips away. It happens in a blink, it happens in a flash. It happens in the time it took to look back. I try to hold on tight, but there's no stopping time. What is it I have done with my life."

Let's live every moment like it counts and get back to a place of people communication, not technology communication.

Better than Before

2011-03-28T16:09:00.000-04:00

I am feeling much better now. I did have to go to the doctor and get some medicine, but all seems good. Life is picking up very quickly. Jonathan has had a few games of T-Ball under his belt and seems to be doing well. We were able to have some good friends over on Friday and Saturday. It is always nice to have people over so you can slow down and enjoy life.

Ever since I got sick, my diabetes seems to be a little higher than is usually is. I am really not sure why, as I eat the same things and I don't over indulge in food. Now of course when I say a little higher I really mean a little higher. Like my morning sugar level is 120-140 instead of 110-120. I am not too concerned right now. Once I am through with the antibiotics and it does not do down, I will probably call my Endocrinologist and make sure all is well.

Until then.

Cold

2011-03-17T09:30:00.000-04:00

I think I got my first cold in a while last night. I had a fever that went up to 101.6 degrees. It finally broke and of course I woke up wet with sweat. IT is not too often that I have been shivering with socks, shorts, tee shirt, long sleeve shirt, long pants and a heating pad. By the way, did I mention I was in my bed too. Rough times. I am still coughing, but I will be ok.

How I spent my weekend

2011-03-14T11:40:00.000-04:00

Sounds like a book report, right. Well, I was not feeing the best this weekend. Friday I took the day off. In part because I did not feel well and in part because my wife was going to see Ree Drummond, aka the Pioneer Women. you can read more about that HERE.

So the rest of the weekend was spend doing what I love, watching basketball. Now is a great time of the year for me. With March Madness upon us, life is good. By the way, my favorite team is the Duke Bluedevils. They managed to win the ACC tournament and secure a number one seed in the NCAA tournament. Should be a good tournament. I think everyone has Ohio State favored to win. No worries from me, as Duke was not picked last year either.

That was my weekend in a nutshell. Upcoming for me and the family, Jonathan's first t-ball game is Friday. Should be fun. Go Muck Dogs. Sounds weird. Go Jonathan!!

Needs versus Wants

2011-03-08T09:05:00.000-05:00

It seems like an easy thing to tell the difference between a need and a want. Do I need this new car? No, I want it. Do I need to pay the electric bill? Yes I do. It is when it comes to food that I seem to have an issue. Misti and I seem to eat all of our money away. Even on a budget, the money seem to go to either food or gas. These days, gas is around $3.30 or so a gallon. At what point can I step back and have a different outlook on this?

We are about 4 months away from not owing anything but our house. That being said, I will still owe myself in a few 401k loans. I do want to work on those, but what concerns me is how can I manage my life, my families live, in a way that is pleasing to God. It is not about saving, it is not about spending, it is not about getting out of debt for me. I want to be in a place that when God says I want you to give something, I will have it to give. It is tough sometimes when you work to get yourself to a place where you feel good about your finances, then all of a sudden, the bottom drops out and you are back to square one. Now, I do not actually feel I am back to square one, but certainly I feel a little more apprehensive about things.

Lord, help me to manage your money the way you want me to. Give me the strength and the discipline to get myself to where you can trust me more. I want to be more responsible and more willing to say "no" when I need to. Let me look to you for what I need. You are my supplier and you own it all. Not the 10% or the 20%, but the 100% of everything I think is mine. It is not mine, but yours. I give it over to you, I ask for you to take control and give me the wisdom to make the right choices to manager what you have so thankfully trust me to manage. I want to do more for you, but that requires me to do more with what you have already given me. I ask for your wisdom and direction for my family. Thank you Lord. Amen.

Dad's dessert night 2011

2011-03-04T13:20:00.000-05:00

So last night at Jonathan's school they had what is called Dad's dessert night. It started at 7:00 pm. There was a 45 minute or so discussion with some baseball coaches from Loganville High school. It was a question and answer session. That was good. Then after that we all got to go our child's classroom. Since it was a sport's themed night, we made a pennant banner with pictures and stickers, then had a snack with everyone's favorites. There were some M&Ms, pizza rolls, chips and cheese, cookies, brownies and all kinds of things. I did not, only because Misti was bringing home some Mexican from when she went with my family to celebrate my Aunt's 59 birthday.

Well, when everything was over we got to take home something that each child had answered about their Dad. Let's see what you think.

1. My Dad look like
He's tall and a skinny guy.
Now this came with a picture. I will see if I can't get it up later.

2. His favorite baseball team is
I don't know, but basketball is Duke

3. My Dad's favorite food is
M&M's

4. My Dad likes to
Play

5. He works at
Well, he just works

6. My Dad is __ years old
14, maybe

7. I love my Dad because
I just do

That will melt your heart.

My Wife's Blog

2011-02-24T09:21:00.000-05:00

My wife Misti does a great blog. She puts a lot of pictures and things on there. I think the thing I like the most is what she does on Wednesdays. She calls them Wordless Wednesdays. It is basically just a picture. In most cases, if not all, they are pictures of our son. The thing I like is when she pulls out the old ones like the one from yesterday. It is amazing how much Jonathan has changed and how quickly he changed.

Take a moment today and appreciate the world around you. If you have a family, enjoy them. Try and do something intentional to enjoy them while you can. Things change and time moves quickly.

T-Ball

2011-02-18T15:55:00.000-05:00

Misti and I have signed Jonathan up for T-Ball. This should be fun. When I was young I played for a season. The first team meeting is tonight. The only thing I am not sure of with this league is the games are on Fridays at either 6:00 pm or 7:00 pm. It means I have to leave work a little earlier to make sure I get there in time. I do not want to miss out. These are the opportunities that make me question working as far away as I do. With a commute that is at least an hour and a half, it makes for a long day in the car. Still, I hope to have many pictures to post here.

Good luck Jonathan.

BTW: I think the name of his team is the "Muck Dogs". What is that all about?

Technology

2011-02-14T10:27:00.000-05:00

Technology, is it a good thing or a bad thing? Well, I think it is a great things given certain parameters. It allows you to stay as connected to everything going on as you want to. Never before in the history of the world is information so accessible. That of course is also a problem. I have heard it said that the internet has made us a culture that is ADD and has a lack of focus. I can only hope that the good of technology does not get lost in the potential downfall of technology.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love technology as mush as the next person. I am thankful for what we have and I am glad we have it. The continual pushing and striving to do things better is something we all need to do, but let's make sure it does not cost us in the end. Cost us in our marriages, in our finances, in the very things that technology is designed to help and improve. Let's use our time to better the world, but let's not forget the person touch. Now all that being said, I know the personal touch is something I need to work on.

I tend to come off much differently to others than I mean to. To that I am sorry, but please know I am trying. In the spirit of the day (Valentine's day), I would like to say Happy Valentine's day to my lovely wife. We met 14 years ago today, it was a Friday. You wore a red sweater, in memory of "Father of the Bride 2". I also had the pleasure of meeting your parents and entire Church that night. To my delight, I also got to experience your acting skills as you assisted in a skit that night. We had dinner at a Chinese restaurant, because the night's activities had it too late to go to anywhere else. As we sat in the corner booth that night, I realized how much I loved you. To this day, I still can't forget the first time I met you and how much I need to do to ensure I continue to show you how much I love you.

Diabetes and me

2011-02-11T09:29:00.000-05:00

For those who may or may not know, I was diagnosed with diabetes on June 24, 2010. It was pretty shocking. My A1C, which is what measures how well your blood handles sugar was high. In fact, high might not even describe it. A non-diabetic should have an A1C under 6.0 or so. Mine was 13.9. For most charts I saw that was not even an option. Now to put that in perspective, the first Endocrinologist appointment I went to, they tested my blood. I had drank a 12 oz Coke about an hour prior to that. My glucose level was 424. That is pretty high.

I have since been on medicine. In fact, I actually took insulin shots for a few weeks. In September my A1C had dropped to 6.5 and by my last doctor visit in February it was at 6.0. Now, that is a good change. I have been pleased with the results. I would love to get it a little lower. The "fun" part of this is the amount of sugar and carbs I can have in in sitting. In general is it around 60-70 per meal. I have learned what certain foods do to my blood so I do make adjustments. All in all, the journey is going well. It has been tough. It has been stressful. I feel much better about things now.

As time goes back, I want to get to the place where maybe I do not have to take medicine. I am now down to 1 pill once a day. I am taking actosplusmet, which is a combo drug of actos and metforman. I am also looking forward to the day when my body is bask to operating completely normal. I still have some issues that I am dealing with, all related to diabetes, but I am prayerful that things will be getting better.

Well, that's all for now.

Trying it again

2011-02-10T13:46:00.000-05:00

I seem to have grown a little more interested in doing a blog again over the last few days. I did it before, then stopped. We will see what happens and how things go, but here I go again.