The Strut

It appears in this photo that jeans cause Reese to strut...

Reese is doing extremely well and is getting the crawling thing down. Last night she went from the kitchen to the back bathroom without stopping and then pulled herself right up into a seated position, it was awesome. Not sure what her aversion to crawling previously was, but it looks like she has overcome it.

I also need to review this past weekend's checklist:

Notre Dame win- x
Bears crush Packers- x
ThunderCats crush Jum- x

The Enquirer has a policy that when distributing tickets to clients for events, priority is given to cases where the rep goes with them. I have a client who is from Cleveland who wanted to take his daughter to the Browns-Bengals game Sunday, so I get to go for FREE. Not a bad deal...

Things are going really well at our church as well, we have started connecting with some couples there and have dinner plans in the next couple of weeks. I have been given the honor of helping them with some advertising/marketing ideas and will be helping them set-up the stage a couple of times a month. (We currently meet in a high school auditorium.) The children's director will also be in touch with Bon regarding helping with the kids during service.

It was awesome this past Sunday where a father baptized his 13 year old daughter, it gave me goose bumps. I definitely look at things differently now that I have my own little princess.

Love you Reese.

Pure Joy

Oatmeal cereal, good for your health, and good for your skin...

Dream Team

So you know about my speeding ticket a couple of weeks ago, going 45 in a 20mph school zone...

Well, similar to OJ Simpson I had my own "Dream Team" with two of the finest attornies in the world. They have managed to get me out of points on my license and get me dropped to a non-moving violation. I can't thank Schad and the Godfather enough, I owe them big for this one. They are getting the judge to overlook that small weapons charge against me a couple of years ago as well...

One of the funniest things that just keeps popping into my head is at the end of the movie Kingpin when Bill Murray's character wins the tourney and collects the $1 Million prize, he says, "Finally, Big Ern is above the law".

That's kinda how I feel...

#1

A win is a win. Notre Dame held on to beat Georgia Tech 14-10 Saturday night. The defense played very well in the 2nd half but the new kicker missed a couple of short ones. Saturday it does not get any easier as they face Penn State on NBC at 3:30.

Mad props go out to Momma for hosting us all day Saturday, we had a great time.

More props go out to Jum for scoring us the entire Disney collection, 130 movies, on DVD for Reese. I know they will get used a ton, you da man.

Thursday night marks the beginning of the NFL season, I love this time of year...

Celebrate!

Want more proof that prayer works? Try this one on for size...

Our pediatrician called and after reviewing Reese's EKG has determined that she sees no abnormalities and at this time sees no need to proceed with further testing for the elongated Q-T interval.

We feel humbled that God has shown his grace to us again and answered our strongest prayer.

The Spectrum

Newest pic of the recovered Reese...

Since it has been a year since Katrina I started reflecting back on my trip down to New Orleans for clean-up and the amazing goodness I saw in so many people. I will never forget the faces and the people we met in that week. I can't believe it has been a year, a conversation I had with a gentlemen and his wife who were volunteering from Missouri and staying with us is what really pushed me over the edge when it came to wanting to start my own business.

They told me stories of their lifestyle and how the freedom the business allowed them to have was a blessing to their children and friends. Not financially, but in time. They didn't have to use vacation to go to New Orleans and help, in fact they offered that any of their employees who wanted to go could ride with them, have no travel expenses, and not have to use vacation time. I will do that for my employees someday...

On the flipside, there has been a terrible story in the news here in the Nati, for those of you who are out of town you can read about it at this link:

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060829/NEWS01/608290340

Absolutely mind-blowing, this child never had a chance. I've given Reese an extra squeeze and kiss every night.

Weekly Update

Alot has gone on in the past week, here are the highlights:

- Reese has her first cold, I guess making it seven months was a good run. Bon has been phenomenal at taking care of her. She has the vapor machine in her room, Bon put some blankets under her crib mattress to prop her up a little at night, and she gets the Baby Vapo-rub applied to her chest. It is very sad to hear her trying to breathe and sounding like Darth Vader.

- One of the hardest things to do is to wipe the nose of a baby, I read somewhere that most kids don't figure out how to blow their own nose until 4 years old!

- Work and class are still rolling on, going very well. I am extremely proud of Mama she is really doing well with her classes and is proving to be a great role model for her 3 little girls!

- This is the last football-free weekend until February, I am extremely fortunate that Bon likes it, Notre Dame plays Georgia Tech next Saturday night.

- Last Saturday we attended my cousin Jamie's wedding in Chi-town. It was good to see some of our family, and we got the opportunity to hoop it up. The game abruptly ended when the Doc went down with a "cramp". I think we were about to beat him...

- Wednesday we took Reese for an EKG so they can take a look at the Q-T interval to see how things look before proceeding with other tests. For those of you who may not know Long Strand QT Syndrome is a heart condition that has taken the lives of a few people in Bon's family, including her brother. It is hereditery and Bon may be a carrier so we are trying to do our due dilligence.

- Thursday I took an alternate route to work due to some minor traffic congestion, on the new route there is a freshmen school which had just begun class that morning. I had no idea and was going 45 MPH. Well a Statey was sitting in the school parking lot, speed limit of 20 mph apparently, so I was pulled over. The bad part is that instead of just getting a ticket I have a mandatory court appearance since it was 15+ mph over in a school zone. So I go to court on September 12th. More updates on this to follow...

Watch this video clip, awesome!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1cxOg_UnG8&search=Notre%20Dame%20Football

Go Irish!

Another Anniversary...

Saturday marked the one year anniversary of Dragonfest and the birthday of my late grandfather.

For those of you who do not know the story, last year on August 12th we headed down to Daytona Beach to share a weekend with Rhino in preparation of Jum going to boot camp.

We, (Jum, myself, Rhino, Daddy B, and Andy), headed to a casino boat with our sights set on a blackjack table. We arrived, sat down at the table, and Andy says to the dealer, "You can go ahead and give us the money now and save some time, because we are going to win it." The dealer laughed, I'm sure he hears that alot.

Well, about 2 hours later, we all stood up from the $5 blackjack table and walked away with over $13,000 collectively. (See photo of what 132 $100 bills looks like.)

It was a night we will never forget, I can't believe it was a year ago already. Here's to you boys, let's do it again soon...

Happy Friday

Another week down, and definitely looking forward to chillin' this weekend. Bon and I should be receiving the final two installments of the first season of 24 tomorrow. This show is the real deal. I think we will be in great shape to catch up by the start of the new season in January.

Another NFL pre-season game tonight on TV, which is always exciting. I know some folks do not like the se games, but I really enjoy watching the scrubs.

Lastly, if you want to play a good prank on someone go to the web-site www.snakesonaplane.com and you can set-up a personalized message to someone from Samuel L. Jackson. It is pretty sweet, I highly recommend it.

Chillicothe PR

Funny story, I am listening to the radio in the shower yesterday morning and this guy calls into the DJ's, one male and one female. The caller asks the female DJ out on a "date", she says "where do you want to take me?"

His response, the Ross County Fair!

The male DJ then interjects, "Chillicothe, right?, isn't that where they have the big biker sex party every year?"

Wow, good thing I am from Ross County, Missouri...

Yes he does...

Back by popular demand, a pic of Reese, now 6 1/2 months old and cool as ever. She is wearing my favorite bib in this one, "My Daddy Loves Me," truer words may have never been spoken.

Props today go out to Miss Russell on her wedding day, congrats, you deserve the best.

The first NFL preseason game is on TV tomorrow night, and so it begins...

Anniversary

Bon and I celebrated our 7h wedding anniversary Monday night. We had a lovely dinner at a wicked nice Italian restaurantee (as the Grumpy Old Men would say) and had a wonderful time. It does not seem like 7 years have passed. A lot sure has changed, and I anticipate a lot more changes in the next 7. Bon is the greatest blessing I have or will ever be given.

Work is going extremely well, and it seems like I need to do a better job of making this a priority. There are a ton of interesting things I come across or think about that seem "blog worthy" but they never make it up. Mad props to Steve Carr who does a phenomenal job of making his blog a must-read on a daily basis.

More props go out to Momma who aced her first 2 accounting quizes and is providing credibility to the fact that she is the first ever employee to agree in principle to work for Momentum Financial, we got a steal folks.

Off to my homework, got class tomorrow night.

Bad News

Rumsfeld OKs Stryker brigade extension

By Rod Boyce
Published July 27, 2006
Posted in Local

The Defense Department and military commanders announced today that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has approved an extension in the tour of duty of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, which has been in Iraq for nearly a year and which was in the midst of having soldiers return to Alaska.

Rumsfeld, according to an announcement on the Defense Department’s Web site, has approved an extension of up to four months. The announcement made no mention of the brigade’s destination in Iraq.

“The Secretary of Defense approved a request by the Commander of Multi-National Forces-Iraq (MNF-I) to extend the deployment of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team operating in Iraq for up to 120 additional days,” the announcement said. “The Department recognizes the continued contributions of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team and their family members. This extension reflects the continued commitment of the United States to the security of the Iraqi people.

The announcement comes as just as the 172nd’s return to Alaska was under way. Some the nearly 4,000 troops form the brigade have already returned while others were scheduled to arrive later this week and early next month.

Some of the brigade’s soldiers who recently returned to Alaska from Iraq will be sent back to Iraq, said Col. Michael Shields, the 172nd’s commander. Shields spoke Thursday from Mosul, Iraq, to a news conference that began at about 12:20 p.m. Alaska time at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks and Fort Richardson in Anchorage.

Shields said the brigade has “left a legacy of success” in Mosul, where it has been stationed for its time in Iraq. Now, he said, “It’s time to close that chapter and open a new one.”

Shields declined, however, to answer a question about what mission the brigade will have during its extension or where it might be stationed. There has been intense speculation that the brigade will be sent to Baghdad to help curb rising violence in the city. President Bush said earlier this week that the United States would be sending additional forces to the city.

“This is a temporary measure to create a more secure environment in Iraq,” Shields said. The duration of the extension, he said, will be determined by events on the ground.

“Obviously there are financial, emotional and physical hardships associated with this,” Shields said. “There are individual and family issues associated as well.”

The brigade deployed to Iraq in August to the Nineveh province in northern Iraq.

Celebrate

Just got word a few hours ago that Justin is on his way out of Iraq and heading to Kuwait!

He should be in Alaska in a few days and will be able to give everyone a call from his new digs. It will be another month before he gets here, but just knowing he is back on this side of the pond is a huge relief.

Bon and Reese are doing phenomenal, we think Reese may be getting some tooths though, (yes I know the correct word is teeth, but I like tooths).

She has been a little more irritable and her gums have a whitish tint to them.

Big props to Daddy B, it was good to see you Saturday, and it was nice to play some hoop just like the old days.

Peace out...

Update

Not alot new going on here, back to class tonight. Mad props to Momma who started class yesterday, you are never too young to get educated...

Reese had her 6 month birthday Tuesday, which was very exciting

We are addicted to 24. Thank goodness for Netflix, we have started from the very beginning and after one disc, we want another!

We have gotten a little lazy with the photos, so I will try and get some more up in the coming days, she is growing very quickly!

t-8 days for Jum in Iraq.

Peace out...

Concert

As difficult as this may be to admit, I may have a man-crush on Tim McGraw. Bon and I had the opportunity to go and see Tim McGraw and Faith Hill last night. What makes him so cool, is that he just seems so legit, seems to be a good husband and father, and owns an arena football team. My only complaint about the concert is that Faith took up too much time with her solo act. They did some duets to open, then Faith performed for an hour, Tim for an hour, and then they rejoined for duets in the encore.

Mad props to Miss Russell, AKA Aunt Amy who stayed with the Reese last night while we went to the concert. Unfortunately she had to battle with the great protector, Chubbs. Apparently Chubbs planted herself under Reese's crib and did not take kindly to Amy getting close. She likes to hiss and growl, all show.

That's all for now...

Chillin'

- Congrats to Rhino for landing a gig in Indiana. Well deserved dawg, and the fact that you are 40 miles from Notre Dame brings a smile to my face...

- We had a great time w/Mom as she got a chance to come down and stay for a few days this week.

- The Reese is doing well, she has started some cereal and continues to grow. Although in the last week or so she has started an anti-sleep campaign. I am typing this right now at about 3:20 in the AM because she woke up and just fell back asleep. She refuses to nap during the day for longer than 10 minutes and is now waking up in the middle of the night or at 5AM. We hope this trend does not continue.

- Bon has a day of festivities scheduled with the girls so it is Reese and Daddy's day of fun. Let's see what we can get into.

- Work and school are still going extremely well, Jum should be back state-side in Alaska in about 2 and a half weeks, and NFL training camps start in a couple of weeks. Life is good...

Happy 4th!

Thank you to all the service men and women around the world.

Mad props to little bro, see you soon...

Tidbits

OK I am going to do this bullet style, lots to update

• Our excursion was awesome, big shout out to Daddy B and Aunt Krys, you are the greatest
• Reese is an awesome road warrior
• She has a new high chair as you can see in the pic, courtesy of my classmate in the MBA program who works at Evenflo. The only thing better than a nice high chair is a free high chair, and this one was both!
• I am the sports curse. Many of you know my history of being associated with losers and how when I leave them they become successful. In my sweeping commitment months ago to allign myself with teams permanently I chose the Knicks and Indians. Neither team is doing very well right now...
• We tried Berries N Cream Dr. Pepper last night, I highly recommend it.
  
• Mom is coming down to visit for a couple of days, so we are looking forward to that.
• Big shout out to my boy SBraine who has things going back in a positive direction right now, very happy for you dawg.
• Mad props to Rhino who has officially passed his board certification and is now legal to work as a chiropractor, well deserved brother!
  
• Adam Dunn got one lucky swing last night and Bob Wickman should be released

That's all for now, keep livin' the dream...

Call me Narrow-minded...

but I just do not get the whole soccer thing. I know The Godfather and Steve were very excited for it, but I have never had one smidget of interest in the sport. I guess part of it comes from the fact that it was not a sport people in Ross County grew up playing. Only two schools in the conference had varsity teams, and there was not the youth explosion of today. I will admit that soccer may be a better sport for young kids than baseball or tee-ball. At least in soccer you are running, albeit for no reason in some cases as the game ends in a tie, but I digress.

I am a firm believer against organized sports for kids at a young age, especially multiple sports. Get out and play with your friends, play games in the sandlot! I did not play organized sports until I was 10 years old and I think that worked out perfect, so thanks Mom. You see so many kids get burned out b/c they start playing soccer/tee-ball at 4 years old!

OK, enough on that tirade. We started our 3rd MBA class tonight and it was solid. I am going to enjoy learning from this instructor for 11 weeks.

I just printed out our directions to NC tomorrow night, we are extremely excited. I may blog some little snip-its while I am there, in between thunderous volleyball spikes off of Jase's melon.

Peace out...

The Rhino

I have come to realize that many people in my life have nicknames. Case in point, we spent the last couple of days with my cuz, Rhino. He was in town for a couple of interviews as he tries to decide where he will start practicing as a chiropractor.

We enjoyed some LaRosa's and Guinness before game 6 of the NBA Finals last night, it was great to see him. Mad props to D-Wade and the Heat, is it a coincidence that a team called the Heat won the title the same year Reese was born...

Bon and Reese are doing phenomenal, today was solid at work. I go back to class tomorrow night, which is exciting. I was able to maintain my 4.0 through the second class, so far so good.

We watched "Just Like Heaven" the other night, starring, Reese Witherspoon, and I would recommend it. I am usually not one for corny romantic comedies, but it was solid. Tonight we are watching "Red Eye". Evaluation on that one will be coming shortly.

Keep it real...

Unbelievable Story

OK, here's the story. It is amazing how God shows up. After my huge mistake on Friday I had come to the conclusion that we would have to cancel our trip to Daddy B's this weekend. This was devastating as I knew it was my fault and all of the responsibility fell on me.

As I was getting ready to make the call Bon said, "Let's give God Monday, if it is his will that we make the trip you will make the sale you need to earn your commission and bonus for June."

You see things were looking bleak for June, our fiscal month ends on Sunday and with newspaper deadlines I needed to get the order secured today. The morning was a flop and I had a "routine" meeting scheduled for 2PM. This was our first meeting, and I had no hope of this being the deal we needed.

But God took over, she bought not one full page ad, but 2! One on Thursday and one on Friday! Not only did this allow me to hit the bonus level, it pushed me over to receive additional compensation. Without hitting this we would have been hard-pressed to even meet our monthly bills.

Bon called out the faith doctrine again and nailed it! All the glory goes to God as we can now recover from my mistake and proceed down the road to NC...

The Face of Happiness

Happy Father's Day to all my peeps out there. The ones I know who may be checking the blog include: SBraine, The Godfather, Jase, Steve, Guido and of course, Daddy B.

God has a funny way of humbling people. Just when I think I have everything rolling and on top of stuff I get smacked in the face with a screw-up. I made a money mistake and was hit with significant penalties that have made a serious dent in the portfolio to say the least. We are now leaving it up to God to make some things happen tomorrow if it is his plan for us to still make the trip next weekend. Otherwise, we are in serious Barney. (Barney Rubble, trouble)

The Floor Jungle

That darn monkey! Straight Grabill attitude folks...

Just chillin at 3:30AM, feel like I should go grap a couple of sliders at White Castle. Reese is and will stay asleep, she is not the cause. We were so run down last night we went to bed at about 8:45 and all of a sudden about 2:45 this morning I was wide awake.

God is funny though, b/c I had missed Jum on-line for about a week, and guess who showed up on-line as I fired up the cpu.

Had an awesome meeting yesterday with a local computer store owner, his business is called Skunk-a-rific, www.skunkarific.com. He was as cool and unique as the name of the shop, I really enjoyed meeting him and learned alot while I was there. He was showing me how on Internet Explorer and Outlook there is basically programming code writen into each page. This bogs down your system and makes you an extremely easy target for hackers. The solution, Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird. I have now installed both on our laptop and will no longer be running the other two. It was very simple to do and they even have some cooler features than the Microsoft products. I love learning cool stuff, although the Godfater, (aka Brian Furnish), has been singing the praises of Mozilla for a long time. Let me just say, I would hate to be on the bad side of The Godfather, this guy knows his stuff and I'm convinced could take you out (whack you) if need be...

If you are going to drink...

Drink from a Bear's cup!

This just in, Reese is AWESOME!

Have not received word yet on my final grade for the last class. We actually get this week off, which will be nice, before we head into Managerial Accounting for 11 weeks.

Reese and I had some good bonding time tonight as Bon was doing some water aerobics at the Y.

Got a call from Rhino today, (my cousin Ryan), who is a chiropractor (spelling?) and is looking at a couple of opportunities in the 'Nati. How awesome would that be to have him here?

Not much else new, gearing up for Father's Day...

Update

(Jum is on the far left)

Let's see what has happened since the last update...

Reese had a routine Dr. visit where she had to get 4 shots! She is doing great on all of her development benchmarks and weighed in at 14 pounds, 25 inches long.

Tonight is my last class in my second course of the MBA program, we turn in our finals.

Everything else is still running like a dream, looking forward to our trip in a couple of weeks to N.C...

Oh yeah, and today from NetFlix we get "Two for the Money" with Bon and I's favorite actor, Matthew McConaghey.

There were 3 in the bed and the little one said...

Roll Over, Roll Over!

What a few days in mi casa. The Reese decided it was time to roll over, and tonight she performed the "barrell roll". (Roll over, back onto back same direction, over again same direction, she actually covered some ground with that manuever)

Everything else is awesome, Bon actually said it best yesterday, "Does it get any better than this?" We could not ask for anything more than what God has blessed us with. We have some crazy relatives, but who doesn't? When we look at our collective life together, the 3 of us, it doesn't get any better than this.

Big shout-out to John and Sally for hosting the cookout yesterday, we had a great time. Even though the Furnish family cheated to upset Bon and I in cornhole, it was fun.

This is the last week for my second MBA course. We have a take home final that I worked on for most of the day, but finally stopped when I got a brain cramp.

We are also finalizing plans to visit Daddy B and Aunt Krys in a few weeks w/Jase's posse, ROAD TRIP!

Peace out, keep livin' the dream...

The Shark

Reese has earned a new nickname, ladies and gentlemen, meet "The Shark". Reminiscent of the old UNLV coach who liked to chew on cloth, Reese has the same addiction. And the ferosity in her eyes as she attacks the lifeless rag is unparelled.

Keep your linens close, The Shark may be lurking...

Summertime

Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff said it best, "Summatime" is one of my all-time favorite songs. I can't help but turn it up when I am cruisin...

This is a pic of Mom w/The Reese at a picnic with Katie's family last weekend.

Yesterday we had the chance to hook up with Guido's clan over at Rocky Fork and give Reese the opportunity to meet one of the candidates for her arranged marriage. She was entertained by Jackson but was pretty laid back the entire time. We have not gotten her to the point where she will cut up and laugh around other people. She does it alot when it is just the 3 of us at home, it is hillarious.

Gotta go, need to "Hustle to the mall to get me a new set, yeah I got on sneaks, but I need a new pair, cause basketball courts in the summa got girlz there, the temperature's about 88..."

You know the rest, it's Summatime

Go Irish

Validation for why I became a Notre Dame fan:

Mother of Irish's young fan also dies
ENQUIRER STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Cathy Mazurkiewicz, 46, the mother of a boy granted a dying wish to call a football play for Notre Dame, has died eight months after her son. She died Wednesday at her parents' home in Bodfish, Calif., of melanoma, said her daughter, Katrin Seymour. Her son, Montana, 10, died of brain cancer.

Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis visited Montana Mazurkiewicz in Mishawaka, outside South Bend, in September before Notre Dame played Washington. Weis asked if there were something he could do, and he agreed to let Montana call the first play against Washington. Montana called "pass right."

Weis called for a pass right on the first play of the game from scrimmage even though the Irish started on their own 1-yard line. Tight end Anthony Fasano caught the pass and leapt over a defender for a 13-yard gain.

Montana never got to see the play. He had died the day before. Cathy Mazurkiewicz said she couldn't believe Weis called the play after the Irish started with their backs to the goal line.

Mistaken Identity

It has been a few days without a Reese pic, so here you go...

Funny story last night, had the opportunity to be in the Bengal's suite last night at the Red's game. Mad props to N2 for hooking me up. After the game I was waiting on the elevator to take me down to my car. The doors open and it is packed like sardines. A lady yells, "we can't take anymore, you will have to wait!".

I reply with, "I am just one, we can make it work," which was followed by another female who shouts, "Let him on, that is Jason LaRue, the Reds catcher!"

Which is followed by a frenzy of people asking me to hook them up with Griffey and autograph request. The funny thing is, I look nothing like him, but because one lady thought so, they all went with it. Pretty hillarious, I didn't have the heart to tell them their "brush with a celebrity" was way, way off base.

Official Press Release

www.momentumcpa.com is the new web address registered for Momentum Financial and the company will be run by the 3-headed monster that is Reese, Bon and myself. I already have a mental image of a logo and flash intro to the web-site, it involves a catchy formula...

Brian has a good friend who I am going to contact about doing the web-site for us, but will probably not get really serious about it until the first of the year. While the launch of the business is just under 2 years away there is alot of prep work to iron out and the earlier you can promote yourself the better!

We (our family, Jase's family and Momma) had an awesome time with Katey's family yesterday. Jum thought it was very important that we all not meet each other for the first time at the wedding in September, so Katey organized a cookout yesterday. We had so much fun and really enjoyed meeting everyone, we have lucked out again! I am not sure what Mom did to secure 3 solid daughters-in-law with cool families, but she has pulled it off. Nice work Momma.

L-I-V-I-N

It has been an interesting few days. Had another thrilling class Thursday Night, with an interesting twist. One member of the class is the treasurer at a school district here in Cincinnati. He nudges me and points to a web address that list a position available at their school. It is for a Director of Development, which basically helps secure community financial support and handle publc relations.

I think it would be a very interesting job and the compensation is around where it needs to be. The downside is that it would be about a 35 minute commute from where we are now and will require some weekend/evening work. I told him I would not be applying and he responded by asking me to apply anyway since "you never know what can happen."

I think that is fair, so I am going to shoot over my resume today, I will keep you posted.

In addition, very excited for the fam to come down today and spend the afternoon at Katey's, to get an opportunity to meet her family. Should be a great time.

Peace out for know, going to update the resume...

Bon Jovi

As I was driving around today on sales calls I came across "Livin' On a Prayer" on the radio dial. It made me start thinking about how amazing their run has been. "Slippery When Wet" was the first cassette I ever owned, and now I am on the verge of 30 and they are still rocking.

Hats off to you Bon Jovi, you still rock...

Traffic Jam

Just when you think Cincinnati traffic is difficult, check out Iraq!

Mother's Day was awesome, Reese really came through for her momma!

Got to do homework, peace out...

Mother's Day Eve

Happy Mother's Eve everyone, this is a great shot I got of Reese this morning as she was waking up from a siesta.

Not much new here, Bon continues to amaze me with how great of a mother she is, and I would say that on any day. She is getting her hair done today, it's been over 4 months, pre-Reese, since she had it done. I can't wait to see it.

She also took the initiative and got all signed up at the YMCA. They have a really sweet set-up, with a television channel in the workout area that shows the nursery. That way she can watch The Reese while gettin her groove on. Here in a couple of months we will be able to get Reese in the pool as well, with baby swimming lessons. We are praying she did not get my floatability.

Also, if you watch Deal or No Deal, you obviously saw the OU band and former mascot on last night and Wednesday night. His name is Chad and he was Guido's roommate freshmen year in Athens. What a small world, for the record he took home $14K.

Peace out for now...

Hold On...

Mom always told me that some day my big ears would serve a purpose...

Up Close...

Without getting into specific numbers let me just tell you that God has really shown up at work. Things continue to fall out of the sky, under no doing of my own. It is awesome! I can't wait to go to work everyday and see what happens next.

I am looking forward to Bon's first Mother's Day, we will go out for a picnic, weather permiting, and she has already received her gift. (I cannot keep a secret)

I hope Bon is able to go to her women's Bible study tonight so that she can get some time on her own, I think that is important.

We have also made working out commitments, Bon just realized that I have high cholesterol, who doesn't these days? So I am out to get in shape, I heard a TV commentator say the other day, "How many people who live to be 100 are overweight?"

So here we go, let's get it on!

TV Junkie

OK, where to begin. I did not blog much last week b/c I had no internet. The wireless internet that I had been using was no longer giving me a signal, so we decided it was time to do the right thing and order our own. Three months was a good run.

That did not give me a chance to reflect on Day 2 of the Bears draft. I hated it, there are about 2 GM's who know what they are doing consistently, Pittsburgh and New England. I was more pleased with the guys we signed after the draft as free agents.

- Dion Byrum, CB, Ohio University
Baller who single-handedly beat Pitt last year, (returned 2 INT's for touchdowns) and he went to OU!
- Tim Day, TE, Oregon
We desperately needed a TE and this guy is a steal.
- Josh Huston, K, some college in Columbus
Apparently this kid, who was considered the #1 kicker in the draft, goes undrafted and called the Bears. "I only want to play for you" It is too bad he didn't go to a better college

We watched School of Rock last night, that movie is easily in my Top 10...

I started a new course this past Thursday that lasts for 6 weeks. He read to us from 36 Powerpoint slides for 4 hours, pray for me...

New Look...

I have to admit I stole this template from Steve Carr, but I was looking for something cool with a photo. I am now a paying customer of internet service, my "free" wireless is now a thing of the past. More on this later, just got home from class and am wiped.

There are plenty of good stories from the last few days coming to the blog, stay tuned...

Christmas in April

Well the Bears have addressed a couple of needs, but made one mistake in my opinion.

Daniell Manning adds a hitter with speed at the SS position, something that has been nissing since the days of Tony Parrish.

Devan Hester is our own version of Randle El it sounds like. He returns kicks, runs the ball, catches the ball, and plays defensive back. He is wicked fast as well.

Dustin Dvoracek will plug the middle until Tank Johnson is ready to come back. Dvoracek and Tommie Harris played together at Oklahoma.

We had the opportunity to get the #1 WR, Chad Jackson, and still have not addressed TE. The bad thing is all of the "good ones" are now off the board. We need one desperately!

We will see what happens today, wouldn't mind seeing a kicker and a Bobcat go to Chitown today...

Public Office Here I come...

I apologize for the delay, that final kicked my butt this week. I will let you all know when I get my grade. We start a new course next week and have homework due for the first class, are you kidding me?

On a side note in regards to class, I was elected by my classmates as the class representive. Basicaly I will serve as the liasion between our group of 13 and university officials for our 2 years together. I was humbled to even be nominated.

Reese is doing amazing, today she learned how to let out a very high pitched squelch, not a cry or laugh, just a rebel yell. It is awesome...

Apparently Jum is living in a tent right now in Iraq and will have no computer access for the foreseeable future. I will definitely think of him even more this weekend as it is our favorite weekend of the year, the NFL DRAFT! I can't tell you the last time we didn't watch it together.

I will have a draft recap the next 2 days, especially in regards to what the Bears may pull off.

We were signed up by our friend Krista at P&G for a diaper study. Basically we get free Pampers for 2 weeks and a Kroger gift card. All Bon has to do is keep the #1 dipes and weigh them for the study. Sweet deal!

Keep livin' the dream...

Go Bears!

Bibs Y'all

As Chubbs lays at my feet and I wrap up my work on my final for the day, Bon is getting Reese ready for bed.

Today was solid, got to chat with Jum via instant messenger. He is leaving Mosul "soon" and heading about 60 miles west of Baghdad. He is not sure if he will still have computer access so communication may get tough.

Speaking of tough, this final is kicking my booty. I need an 80 out of 100 to get an A for the course.

Keep livin' the dream...

Gametime!

(Jum in his gear, ready for action)

We had a great time at Jase and Amber's today. Jase gave me a great lesson on tuning up a car and we even got to go head to head in some cornhole. It is nice being closer so we can get together alot more often with them.

Big shout out to the mother in-law who celebrates a birthday today. I would tell you how many, but I ain't that dumb. Love ya Beth.

We got our group assembled for my MBA program. Myself excluded we have the strongest players in class. I am very fortunate to be paired with them.

Oh yeah, and the other wicked sweet news. You know how I put on here that I had a phenomenal day at work on Thursday, well Friday was even better. It is an amazing feeling to realize that you are just a vessel that God is working through to make things happen.

Keep living the dream...

Is there any money in here?

She is so cute, ok sorry,

School was good last night and work was unbelievable yesterday. I was able to secure about 30% of my May goal yesterday alone! This is all God at work, I am not smart enough to make this stuff happen on my own...

Maybe we will get cable around the end of August since MNF is now on ESPN...

I wish God would drop a Treo into my lap, those things are awesome...

I am attending a luncheon today for the Christian Business Network at Vineyard Church. They meet once a month and my pal Kevin Schad hooked me into it. I am looking forward to it.

Peace out for now...

From the shadows...

(Jum looking for militants)

Big congrats goes out to our great friend and Parcheesi guru, Amy Russell, who is now engaged to be married in August. This summer is chock full of nuptials...

There is Jamie's, Amy's, and I thought there was one more, oh well, must not have been an important one.

Mad props to myself for scoring a 96 (out of 1oo) on my mid-term.

Back to school tomorrow...

Looking for the bunny...

This is a picture of Reese in her dress on Easter morning.

Today is her 3 month birthday, celebrate!

Not much new here, work has been crazy and we are looking forward to seeing the fam this weekend. Jase is going to give me a tutorial on tuning up a car... (should be entertaining)

As I type this the Tribe are up 13-0, awesome

Keep livin' the dream...

Iraq

Today was a great day. We had a chance to see Mom and show The Reese off to Bon's side of the family.

We also got a call from Jum. He is doing well, crushing it in the "sandbox". He has a digital camera there and was able to send us some pics. I will post some different ones as the days roll by.

Giddeup

She turns 3 months old next week folks...

That is Beth in the background who is not holding her, just on ready alert...

I could go on and on about her stories of super development, but I do not want to be one of those over-hyping parents, ya know...

Not much new here, going to hit the homework today, still waiting on my mid-term grade.

Work is going well, this week coming up sould be huge. We are ready for Easter. Bon has a church outfit and an after church outfit for Reese on Sunday. Both provided by Reese's grandmas...

We are going to see Blake this morning for the first time as well and are very excited about that!

Go Tribe, break out of this funk, (lost 3 in a row)

Keep livin' the dream...

Purple Power!

7-foot-3 Bennett signs with K-State

By HOWARD RICHMAN The Kansas City Star
The first piece of the recruiting puzzle at Kansas State has been solved. And it’s a big piece.
Jason Bennett, a 7-foot-3 center from Arlington Country Day High School in Jacksonville, Fla., signed a letter of intent to play for coach Bob Huggins’ Wildcats. He chose K-State over Auburn.
“It was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make in my life, but I’ve always wanted to play for coach Huggins,” Bennett said. “I had to go with my heart and who I think will get me to the NBA.”

At Arlington Country Day, purple-clad students attended Bennett’s signing ceremony.
“We have a dress code. But students were encouraged to wear purple today,” a secretary who answered the phone at the school said late Wednesday morning. “They were told if they wore purple, they would not get into any trouble.”

Bennett becomes the tallest player in K-State history. The Wildcats had two players 7-1: Nick Pino (1966-68) and Joe Leonard (1998-2001).

A year ago, when Huggins still coached Cincinnati, Bennett made an oral commitment to play for him there.

Bennett averaged 12.5 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocks in leading Country Day to back-to-back Class 2A state championships.

It's a Boy!

William Blake Furnish was born today at 4:45Pm in the 'Nati. He weighed in at 6lbs 11 ozs. Everyone is doing great!

Reese is a liitle bummed because she realized she will have to sit next to a boy in class for the rest of her life, there is not much chance of anyone squeezing between Furnish and Furniss on the class roster. Unless...a boy named Caesar Furniso could always move into the neighborhood...

Congrats Blake you have amazing parents...

Praise God for this wonderful blessing...

Corolla gets facelift

I officially changed the license plates tonight on the Corolla. Our 1997 beast has returned to being tagged by the state of Ohio. Maybe I should sell our Tennessee plate on ebay as memorabilia?

Got a chance to chat with Jum yesterday via instant messenger. He was doing good and had scored some movies in "the sandbox". (That's what he calls Iraq) He was able to get 46 movies on DVD and a haircut for $44! I don't know what is more amazing, the fact that he bought 46 movies or the fact that he had to pay for a haircut!

Bon and her mom put the finishing touches on Reese's room today, and it looks amazing. They could really be professionals. I definitely want thent odesign "Manland" when the time comes.

We have very noisy people living above us now, just heard a thud so I thought I would share.

Go Tribe, another victory.

Keep livin' the dream...

Movie Review

Last night we got a chance to see the Chronicles of Narnia for the first time. Bon and I really liked it, the graphics were way cool and you could really see the christian themes throughout the movie. Two thumbs up

I spent most of the day doing homework and Bon took Reese and her mom shopping. It was the first time Beth had been to Jungle Jim's, so they had a good time. I have a couple of more pieces of homework to finish up and I will be ready for Thursday.

Please keep our "friends", (we consider them family), Brian and Carrie in your prayers. Carrie is due anyday to give birth and we are very excited for them. They have been able to hold out without finding the sex of the baby, so everyone is making predictions. I say boy, just by the law of averages. Girls are taking over!

Tribe win again, and so do the Reds??? I-71 World Series?

I'm Back

I feel like Steve just punked me out by encouraging those bloggers who had become stagnant to pick-up the pace.

I am answering the bell. Let me also point out that I have joined into the "soul patch" club with Mr. Carr, I dig it, it will be hard to shave off this time.

Reese is doing phenomenal, as you can see from this picture. She is getting bigger everyday and really showing her personality.

Bon has been an even better mother than I could have ever imagined, her commitment to Reese on a daily basis and the way it has impacted Reese already is amazing. Thanks Bon...

I am loving my job at the Enquirer, I work with great people and have seen some early success. It all comes from God though, I do not take credit for any of it.

I have been able to correspond with Jum a few times via e-mail, so far he seems to be doing well.

School is rocking, 3 classes in, 99 to go. I am so excited about this journey and where it is going to take us when we get through it.

The Tribe are off to a 3-1 start and Nomar is on the DL, it is definitely baseball season...

Please be seated...

I am a glutton for punishment, what can I say. I began work on a 3rd college degree this week. My MBA class at IWU started on Thursday.

I love it already, the instructor is phenomenal, my classmates are solid, and I know I will learn alot. I have homework already!

Also, we took Reese to have her first professional photos taken last night, they turned out awesome. Was there any doubt? I mean, when the photographer is telling us about next year's beautiful baby contest and how we need to enter because Reese would win, is there anything else to say???

Gotta run, classwork calls...

We have a new college basketball team...

The Furniss family have officially alligned thereselves to Kansas State basketball...

Whattup

Things have been going really well for us. Reese is now 2 months old and making us laugh everyday.

I am loving my new job and actually signed a fairly large contract yesterday with a nightclub.

I start class again on Thursday, you can expect a post with an update on that Friday. One of the more interesting things for me will be meeting the other 12 people in my class. We will go through every class together from now through graduation, which should help me increase the network of business contacts.

I have also registered to attend some luncheons for the Christian Business Network, which is very exciting.

Jum made it to Iraq and Katie has heard from him, we now have an address where we can send letters.

Bon is beating me in our brackets again this year, we each have different pairings in the title game, so I have a feeling it is going to go down to the wire.

They are predicting 5 inches of snow today in the Nati...

Happy Birthday Mom!

Big shout out to mama on celebrating the big 5-0.

More pics of Reese to come soon, having some technical difficulties with my camera.

The job is going sweet, I go back to school next week.

Bon is at a baby shower so Reese and I are settling in for some Idol.

Jum was in Kuwait as of late last night, waiting to be taken to Mosul.

Talk to you soon...

Weekend Update

Happy 25th birthday to Jum,

Sorry for the delay on posting but going back to work is going to take some time to get my schedule in order. I don't have as much "free time" as I used to. On that note, the first week at work was awesome. I really enjoyed it, the people I work with seem to be cool and I have alot of opportunity to succeed. Bonnie and Reese are doing great. Bon's birthday is Thursday, so that will be exciting.

If anything comes up, I will let you know. Gotta get back to the Oscars...