Well hello there...

Two items on today's post. 1st - a story I've been meaning to share for a while. On or about April 9th I headed out to work at around 5:30AM. I was looking to find a place I could get office snacks and some half and half before I got in. I tried two convenience store with no success and then I stopped in High's in Middletown. Since this was the last stop I was going to make I know I would be getting the creamer, but I was really hoping to find this new style of Emerald cashews "Sea Salt and Pepper" that Erin had got me and which was awesome.

I cased the store from one end to the other and found nothing. I finally gave in, and went for the creamer. While walking back to the front of the store, creamer in hand, I passed the magazines rack. It was one of those racks with a line of reputable magazine's on the front bottom row, and 5 lines of magazine's with plastic bag on them and a well designed black strip to protect the eyes of the innocent passerby.

I have to admit I slowed down to snails pace as I passed so I could look at all the... articles on the covers of the reputable magazine's. Well, come on there is a very innocent and natural curiosity about what is behind those black plastic wrappers. Doesn't everybody at least glance as they go by. One of them was a college edition and I have always been a fan of higher education. One was entirely dedicated to plastic containers, very noble.

All fun aside I really only glanced, and I never stopped moving. The amount of time in which my head was turned in the direction of that rack was 3 seconds tops.

It's amazing what can happen in three seconds. In that short window of time a high school buddy of mine, Will Stan , walked around the corner and said hi. Now Will is a great guy, I knew him from school and church, and he was always a very family type guy. So here he rounds the corner to see me, almost standing (I never stopped I swear) with a container of creamer in one hand and I look like I'm staring at the nudy magazines as if I've been there since 3am debating weather I'm going to go with the lingerie edition, or girls of Walmart.

So I begin to studder and flub my way through a how are you. If Will was passing judgment I never knew it, and besides he's a pretty laid back guy, that's not really his thing. But I can't help but feel guilty that here we both are now, family men, and in our first meeting in years I've got creamer and a wondering eyes. I must have made a mighty fine impression. Timing is everything.

We did end up chatting for 5 min or so, and it turns out he lives near me and has 2 kids of his own. I do hope we will get together and maybe laugh about it at some point. Will's a hell of a nice guy and it would be great to resume our friendship. maybe we can grab coffee or something. I'll bring the creamer!!!

2nd - A couple of beer notes. I have had to of Dogfish's more exotic offerings lately. World Wide Stout was an expensive bottle I bought on the way home April 15th as a little treat to me. If you are a beer fan I would recommended it for the experience. It uses "a ridiculous amount of barley" which make for a strong, yet kinda sweet beer very rich in flavor. It's not something you'd drink 2 of, but it's worth having once.

Also I had the chance to try Burton Baton which kicked a hell of a lot of ass. This is a beer I would love to try again and would drink 2 or 3 of. Dogfish describer it as "A blend of oak-aged English strong ale and our 90 Minute I.P.A.". The problem is the price, which makes me want to try to brew some my self. I'll let you know how that goes.

Grumpy and Henry

 
--Erin dropped off Henry today at the house while she got a hair cut. Grandma and Grumpy got to spend a little time with the guy. He fussed and fused until grandma fed him (110ml yea!!) Then all he wanted to do was sleep. He slept with Grandma until her arm was sore and then he slept with Grumpy. Grumpy has the best belly for baby nap time. I got a hair cut and just watched my dad with Henry. I imagine is wasn't all that different when I was a baby. I like the idea. I always felt very comfortable with my parents as a kid and Henry looks very comfortable as well. I hope he grows up to have the same fond memories of childhood that I have. Rock on Grumpy!!!

So the tax season has come and gone. Lots still to do, but lots more time to do it. I have officially started screwing off at the office (only for a couple min though I promise) and this is the proof. Here's to rejoining the world...

Daily Diaper Digets vol 1

First, Erin is trying to steal my thunder. She had her shot at the whole blog thing and gave it up. Now that I'm up and rolling (kinda) she wants a piece of the action again. She has started her personal blog back up and is trying to out post me. To be honest she is out posting me. I've kinda fallen off the map as of late. This is the second day since Feb 10th that I've been able to sleep in and have a bit of personal time. If my luck holds up I'm going to go smoke a cigar before my shower. That would kick ass.

In the vices column I have had time to resume drinking, a past time which is coming in very handy. I will say that I've had my first baby screaming during a booze generated headache at 4am experience. While I really needed those 2 very strong drinks the night prior, in hindsight I should have made them either smaller or weaker. There is something about a baby's scream (not cry, but the full on whale) that cuts through the fog of a headache to pierce the brain at it's core. I guess it Henry's way of telling me to lay off the sauce.

As for beer, I am loving the ginger sisson i made before tax season. It's only down fall is that it heads up a ridiculous amount. However if you just give it a min it's fine. I haven't had much time to go buy stuff. I did some Guinness and Bass Ale "Black&Tan's" around St. Patty's day, which was great. Other than that my only good samples were from a client that owns a liqueur store and dropped me off a mixed six pack of seasonal brews. 2 Sierra Nevada celebration ales, 2 pyramid snowcap ales and 2 Troges Nugget necter. I have to say that the timing of this free 6 pack couldn't have been better and was a great surprise. My favorite is the Snowcap which was great.

Buy the way, I just finished that cigar I was hoping I would get. (2 hour delay in finishing this entry). It was a ISOM I got from a friend as a congrats for Henry. Damn fine one too, and again the timing is perfect. I really needed a little relaxation time and I feel a little more centered now for having it. My favorite part of smoking a stogie is just stopping to think for a while.

As far the the Diaper Digest, the little guy is doing well. We are still monitoring his heart, which has 3 holes in it. Apparently this should not cause great alarm, but i am admittedly worried. The Dr's have indicated he will get worse, and then should get better. Should, being the operative word. We do know that there will be no sudden changes in his condition, they should be gradual and easy to spot. The hope is they will heal on their own, but if not surgery (hopefully in the distant future) is an option. For the moment though we are just enjoying him.

He is filling out and starting to focus a little when he looks around. He does all the normal baby things, and I love it when it's my turn to care for him. I'm hoping to do much more of it when tax season wraps up.

The house is coming together, and hopefully we'll get a lot more done today. Which we won't unless I quit blogging and get to work. So long for now, I hope to write lots more in the future.