Greetings from 2011!

Hello faithful readers,

I would go through the whole song-and-dance explaining why it's been so long since I last wrote and would follow that up with a pledge to regularly update, but let's be honest: the people who read this know me and understand what I've been up to the last 9 months. Here's a hint:

Abigail has done a pretty fair job updating you on Aveline from her blog, so you can read that if you're not up to date. I will say that Aveline is much more trouble now that she's crawling and grabbing and (very occasionally) standing up, but also much more fun. I do miss when she would lie down next to me while the video games were on, however.

At this point, I've almost taught her everything she needs to know, but now she needs to learn to use the controller, not eat it! Just kidding grandparents...she won't play those for a few years yet.

So aside from our little monkey, what's happened in the past nine months? For the first few months we settled into our new routine with her, and by the time Abigail went back to work I was totally an expert at being a dad. I'm kidding, but it really did surprised me how easy it is. People tell us that we are lucky to have such an "easy" baby, and that may be true, but I have noticed that babies can smell fear, just like werewolves. As long as Aveline knows that we're in control and that she's safe, she's generally pretty happy and calm. Exceptions include teething, the time I let her fall off  she totally jumped off the couch like a ninja, and a recent fever bug thingy, but in a general sense she is super happy, and so are we.

I think I started to talk about non-baby things, but that's sort of difficult. When I got married, I was annoyed the first few months when I would walk into a room and invariably hear one or more of the following: "Where's Abigail?", "How's married life?", and something to the effect of "Are you guys thinking about kids yet?". This was pretty annoying for a while but I got over it, and that's probably best since it prepared me for: "Where's the baby?", "Getting any sleep?", "When's the next one coming along?". I'm not kidding; that's really how it is, and because of it I haven't been too upset about missing social events (i.e. church). I'm never too upset about sleeping in on Sundays, but that's a whole other blog post.

So anyway, after the New Year, we were somewhat adjusted to parenthood and Abigail was back to work. Around February, I began to look into going back to school once again, and we did the budget to see if it would work. Without too much detail, we decided that I could work part time and go to school full time without any real hardship other than giving up my morning $4 coffee ritual. Bearing that in mind, I squared everything with the boss and registered for the Game Production program at Collins College, with the intent of starting full time in early March. Then I went back to the hospital.

Some time in March (I think the 8th, but it's fuzzy for obvious reasons), I was lying in bed with Abigail and Aveline not wanting to go to work. I guess God saw some humor in that because the next thing I remember was waking up in the ER of the hospital where Abigail works. I am told that I had 4 concurrent seizures and the doctor described the damage to my back (which was quite severe) as "sort of like getting in 4 car wrecks in a row." So instead of going to school, I stayed home for a couple of weeks. I started 2 online classes for the 10 week term instead, but my recovery time was cut a bit short when my boss resigned from his position. I learned about this on a Friday and due to a freakish sense of responsibility (thank you so much, parents!) I went back to work for a few hours a day in order to keep the new guy from drowning. I started physical therapy at about the same time.

A couple weeks later, Abigail and I decided I could quit work altogether and we would still be okay going to school, so I put in something like an 8-week notice and worked 3-4 days a week while going to physical therapy 3 times a week. My last day at the Marriott was May 25, although technically I am still on call should they need help. If you have a picture in your head right now of me growing a beard and playing games all day, go ahead and erase it. Abigail made me shave the beard after a week and a half and since school started I haven't had much time for gaming. I will do another blog post (possibly tonight) about school, but let me just say now that it's AWESOME!

This has run rather long, but I would be very thoughtless if I did not take the time to acknowledge the people that have been so supportive the past few months when I have really needed them. I do not have many friends for a reason: I prefer quality over quantity. My friends really stepped up to the plate, and Angela (my friend Matt's wife, and a friend in her own right) was there to drive me to work when I wasn't able to do it on my own. There were some days when I knew her schedule was tight and it was an inconvenience, but she did it gracefully and wouldn't even let me chip in for gas (she did let me buy her coffee on occasion). It was pretty depressing being stuck at the house, barely mobile, and Travis, Matt, and Andrew often visited or checked up on me when I needed it. Andrew even shared his DBacks fortune to take me to a few games, and managed not to injure me too severely during the 7th inning stretch!

My mother deserves a special mention for essentially living with us for about a month and a half. I think it's fair to say that the situation wasn't ideal for anyone, but she not only helped me move about when I needed it and took care of Aveline, she got up with her during the night and put her own plans on hold when ours changed. Abigail's parents were also there for us in different ways; they also watched her when needed and Al actually took care of the weeds in our yard when I wasn't able to (as did my brother Tim on multiple occasions!). I'm very thankful that Aveline has grandparents and other family that she can depend on when her daddy is being high maintenance!

Most importantly, however, I am so thankful for Abigail's constant support. She has supported my decision to go back to school from the beginning and has worked hard with me (I live here too so I get 1% credit) to redo our budget in order to make it possible. When I was hurt and unable to do much, she was very good with the situation and took great care of me, but did not let me fall back on my physical therapy and made sure I continued to move around and take care of things. It has not been an easy 3 months, but she has been invaluable. I think I'll keep her.

Okay, well I think that pretty much brings you to speed. I'll try to post at least one or two more topics in detail, but if not...see you in 9 months or so (no that is not a hint)!

Stay frosty,

Scott

Excited

I have an unfortunate tendency to tell the truth when asked a direct question. That doesn't mean I lack social tact or anything; it's just that I have trained myself to be as honest as possible. This makes me valuable in the workplace since I can be trusted, but it tends to create socially awkward situations for me. The most recent example I can give you is when people who know about our baby ask me, "So, are you excited?" I have different responses depending on how well I know the person asking the question, but I have never said, "Yes."

From time to time I have found it necessary to qualify my response, particularly to my mother-in-law, who didn't really know what to say when I told her, "No, not at the moment." I went on to explain that while I was not unhappy about the situation, there were too many things for me to take care of between now and September to be excited. I have said Abigail is excited enough for the both of us (anyone who reads her blog can tell).

So today, I found myself with an unusual amount of free time at work, and I had only gotten about 4-5 hours of sleep last night (which, incidentally, is the amount I have gotten every night for about a week). I was somewhat out of it today, and was fortunate that it was a slow day. As the afternoon wore on and most of my work was finished, I found myself lost in thought.

At some point I started thinking about my daughter, and what she will look like. I wondered what it will be like to teach her things, and if I will ever take her to work with me. I imagined conversations with her. I have the feeling  that she will be really smart; she has good genes. I thought about taking her to her grandparents' houses, and maybe even on a long trip up to Colorado. She has a lot of family there.

Something unusual happened. I stopped being able to concentrate on the work I was doing altogether, and was seized with an urgent desire to get up from my desk, go home, and get to work early on the baby's room (that we're painting tomorrow). I stayed for two more hours (and did get more work done), but the peculiar feeling remained. For just a few moments, I managed to think of my daughter as someone who will be part of my life, and forgot about all of the things we will have to do in the next few months (and for the rest of our lives). I can honestly tell you that yes, now I'm excited. I'm still probably not quite on the level Abigail is, but I'm not sure that's possible.

In a few months, I'm going to be a dad. For a long time, my dad was really the only man I associated with the word. Now I have another one (or Abigail does, anyway, and so he's stuck with me). My brother Phil and my godfather Tim are dads (which is still very strange to me), and now my friends Josh and Travis are having kids too (June and September, respectively). Whenever I have a problem, or whenever I'm excited about something, I always want to tell my dad about it. Someday there's going to be someone who needs me in the same way. Maybe I should learn more about cars, sports, or something dad-like so I'm up to the task.

Yay for President's Day!

Sooo, time flies when you're (mostly) having fun! Monday was great first and foremost because I got to sleep in for a change (first day since Saturday the 7th I'd gotten to do that for various reasons). Abigail and I had breakfast together, then my dad and Susan came to my place. At that point the girls went shopping and to a movie and my dad and I hung out for a while, eventually to be joined by Andrew, then Travis. We had originally planned on going to the driving range that day, but I was sore from sledding the day before and Andrew was tired from being up all morning waiting to get a seat to see President Obama speak on Wednesday (today).

So instead, we got Weinerschnitzel for lunch (one of my favorites!) and played Rock Band. We briefly played Halo, then played Ghost Recon for the remaining time until the girls returned, and my dad and Susan left soon after that. We then ordered Pizza Hut and Travis' wife Kim joined us while we played Rock band again.

I made the mistake at that point of confessing that I had started a new band at the beginning of the day to protect the score of my own band (which is pretty decently high since Rock Band 2 allows you to play through Tour mode by yourself). I think I half offended half amused everyone, but since I did have some amatuers with me (especially my dad) I felt justified. I didn't want to worry about my score; I just wanted to have fun! It turned out to be a good thing as I got at least three Achievements that day. Go me!

I had hoped to write on Monday but alas (or not), there was no time! This weekend was a great stress reliever and a whole lot of fun. Thanks go out to all of my friends who spent time with me as well as my parents, Abigail's parents, and of course Abigail herself. Special shout out to Susan for going to the movies with Abigail, she needed a break!

Snow Day

I actually have a decent amount to write about, but one quick entry is all I have the time or energy for at the moment. It's been a busy weekend so far, and thankfully I have Monday (President's Day) off! Yay!!!

Yesterday was fun. We went to the VNSA book sale (a big annual event) out in Phoenix where I spent a surprisingly reasonable amount of money on books; my forgotten neglected love. My parents, my friend Andrew, my sister Susan, and her friend all went (although we split up upon arrival for convenience) and much fun was had. That night my in laws came over and my father in law (Al) helped me with a few household projects (such as repairing the doorbell) before my mother in law (Dianna) arrived with their Christmas present to each other: a Wii.

We played it for some time. Video game connoisseur that I am it was the first time I had ever played one and I enjoyed it immensely. They decided to leave it with me for a while since they will be busy for at least a couple of days anyway, which I had no problem with at all.

So today I went with my friends Travis and Kim and their little niece Riley so the littlest one could see snow for the first time. It was fun to do something totally random and fun for a change although I know it probably disappointed my dad that I wasn't in church today. Today is one year since my grandfather's death, but I did at least give him (my dad) the message I wouldn't be coming. I promised to say a special prayer that day, although I said it for my dad and not for my grandfather as I think my dad had meant. My dad's beliefs are definitely an amalgam of his Catholic upbringing and our current church, but I think the important thing is his heart is in the right place.

Anyway, we hit the road about 9:45 or so (after some delays not worth mentioning) and eventually stopped for the snow outside of the Pine-Strawberry area on the Pine trailhead, which was nice because it was safe. You can find the pictures on my Picasa page here: http://picasaweb.google.com/rainchaserknight. It's the new album called "Snow Day." We had a lot of fun overall and I am so glad Travis invited me. It made me realize I need to do more things like that; I used to have a lot more fun when I was random. As I've grown older I've gotten a lot more structured and afraid and that's made me a lot more unhappy. I think I need to work on that.

We stopped in Payson on the way back and saw Travis' grandparents. Considering what day it is for me that made me a little sad but I didn't say anything. I never had much of a relationship with my mom's father or any relationship with her mother (she died before my time), and my relationship with my father's parents (it being his dad in question) is similar, although I did know them better. His dad did at least get to come to my wedding before he died, which was very pleasing. When I can find a picture I will put one up under the family album on Picasa. Anyway, Abigail and Matt and Travis all still have living grand parents (Andrew too, actually) that they have a relationship with, and that's something I am jealous of. Barring something horrible my children will get to have that and I am very grateful, but sad because that's something I missed out on.

Wow, this turned out to be longer than I thought! Anyway, hope to have more time tomorrow; I have a bit more to write about. Friday was kind of interesting as well, and I've just had some things on my mind I'd like to get down here. Hope all is well with you, and that someone out there is reading this.

All the best,

-Scott

Christmas time again...

Well, Christmas time is here once again, and I for one am surprised at how fast it came. Seems like only yesterday I was coming back from my honeymoon in October, and now it's Christmas!

Once again I find myself working, and Abigail is not. (pouts) However, we have had Christmasy things the past few days, including this morning, so it's not too bad this time around. Maybe I'll get New Years off, in which case you're all invited to come over for what I've done several New Years in a row now. Kayce, this means you.

Needless to say, Christmas has been a little different this year. I'm forced to be a lot simpler in my gift purchasing than in recent years since I'm now paying for rent and all. It makes me appreciate my parents more. Additionally, I'm buying presents for/celebrating with two families now (actually I did last year too), and that's a switch.

It's not at all bad, and it looks like Abigail's parents have to get used to including me in Christmas just as I am getting used to them. Abigail has to get used to my parents as well; my mom gives socks and underwear to everyone, and you have to show the packages off!

I got to see Matt and Travis, which was nice. I'm house-sitting until the 2nd, with a beautiful house close to my parents, including a widescreen plasma HD TV. Really spiffy. I am sorry I didn't get to see most of you, but hopefully that will change (Kayce!). So, a very merry happy to all of you, and to all a good night!