Just finished reading Nothing to Lose, by Lee Child. If you haven't read any of the Lee Child books, I highly recommend them. All of the books involve the same character, kind of a one man A-Team who drifts thru life one town at a time helping those in need.
Anyway, this book wasn't my favorite of his, but it was still a good read. No dilly dallying at the beginning, it jumps right into the plot and action. Action throughout makes it a fun page turner and as always, I'm already looking forward to his next book.
Rumor has it they're making one of his previous books into a movie, but I really can't picture who'd play the main character. Although his books can read like movies from time to time. Like I said, if you haven't read of of his book, I highly recommend them.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Can I Have Your Attention Please!
Everyone, eyes front please! Down in front, sitting Indian..errr Native American style so everyone can fit. The wife and I have some big big big big big news! No, Sarah isn't pregnant.. but its awfully close. We've decided to adopt!!! Long story short, the home brew method wasn't working, so we're going shopping now.
We've been thinking and talking about this for quite a while. Before we even got married, we had decided that this was something we wanted to do eventually. Mother Nature has just sped up the process for us. So we're still at the beginning of the process, where we're submitting our application to the agency we've selected this week. We've decided to go the domestic route, as you get a better family medical history and we want a newborn, which is tough to get from an international adoption. From here, we have a four or so week period where they do a couple of home visits and the requisite back ground checks on both Sarah and I.
Basically we need to put together a profile for the birth mothers to view. Essentially it consists of a blurb about each of us and about us together, along with info on the families we come from. We also include some pictures of us, doing activities we enjoy or places we love (i.e. us at Acadia National Park or hanging out with friends).
We also get to fill in certain criteria that we want the birth mother to fulfill. Meaning, we can pick the ethnicity (which we're not doing. We don't care about color or sex or anything like that, just want a healthy baby), or we can exclude a woman with a family history of mental illness or anything along those lines. The selection process is pretty in depth so that you can be as specific or as vague as you want. Sarah and I are going to be specific on certain things (certain issues with the family or the mother while pregnant) but as far as most adoptive parents go, we've been told we're on the less picky side. Like I said, healthy is the biggest thing with us.
Next, the birth mother literally flips thru a binder/internet at prospective parents and picks them. After we've been selected we can then decide if we want to go forward or pass. The agency we're going with told us that after the initial four week period, the average time to wait is about six months. We have a couple advantages in that we're both educated, have good jobs, we're very young (comparatively, most adoptive parents are close to 10 years older than us), we're exceptionally good looking, and come from very stable families.
We get picked sometime around the seventh month of pregnancy, so we don't have a whole lot of time to get our stuff together after that. When our birth mother goes into labor we get a phone call telling us and we drive/hop on a plane to wherever she is. We then pick the baby up from the hospital and have to stay in that state for 'X' amount of time (it differs from state to state, but it'll be 4-7 days most likely) It takes time for all the paperwork, etc to go through.
They say 50% of adoptions fall thru, mostly because the mother gives birth then changes her mind, which is very understandable.
Now each state is different. An adoption can not be finalized until after the mom gives birth, and depending on the state, she has between 1 and 3 days to reneg on the agreement. Meaning, we could be in a hotel room waiting for the legal paperwork to go thru, with the baby, and we could get a call saying the mom changed her mind. It doesn't happen often, but it can happen. And before the adoption is finalized, we'll also need to come to an agreement with the birth mother regarding future correspondence (if she even wants any) Most likely, we'll be open to a yearly letter with pictures to her, that goes thru the adoption agency (so she won't know our last names/address). But like I said, it's a mutual agreement between us and her.
Now here's where we enlist your help. Adoption through an agency can get very expensive. Private adoption is much much cheaper. So basically I'm asking you this… if you know anyone out here, a friend of a friend of a friend's daughter or whatever, who is pregnant but doesn't want to keep the child, feel free to pass along our story (no last names please). I know it's highly unlikely, but its worth a shot.
Also, as you can tell since I'm posting this on a little thing called the World Wide Web, not the J Web, this is not a secret. They say you're supposed to tell anyone and everyone (especially priests/ministers/rabbi's whomever) about it because you never know if a private adoption will work out. I know finding out about this news via our website isn't the best, but our families are just so big and there are just too many people to tell in person, so I'm sorry about that :)
I probably forgot to say something here, so feel free to ask any questions if you have any. The wife and I are more than willing to answer them. Also, our parents know most of the answers too, so you can ask them if you don't want to ask us.
Occasionally, I'll post updates, but we really don't anticipate any for the next four or so weeks. But when we know what's going on, you'll know.
Being a parent is something I've always wanted. I learned from the best so I figure I'll be pretty darn good at it too. So this will cost us a little more than the natural way, but to us it's 100% worth it, and we're just so excited! This tiny little baby will need a good and loving home and we think we have the perfect place for it. Heck, we have three extra bedrooms, we might as well fill them right!
We've been thinking and talking about this for quite a while. Before we even got married, we had decided that this was something we wanted to do eventually. Mother Nature has just sped up the process for us. So we're still at the beginning of the process, where we're submitting our application to the agency we've selected this week. We've decided to go the domestic route, as you get a better family medical history and we want a newborn, which is tough to get from an international adoption. From here, we have a four or so week period where they do a couple of home visits and the requisite back ground checks on both Sarah and I.
Basically we need to put together a profile for the birth mothers to view. Essentially it consists of a blurb about each of us and about us together, along with info on the families we come from. We also include some pictures of us, doing activities we enjoy or places we love (i.e. us at Acadia National Park or hanging out with friends).
We also get to fill in certain criteria that we want the birth mother to fulfill. Meaning, we can pick the ethnicity (which we're not doing. We don't care about color or sex or anything like that, just want a healthy baby), or we can exclude a woman with a family history of mental illness or anything along those lines. The selection process is pretty in depth so that you can be as specific or as vague as you want. Sarah and I are going to be specific on certain things (certain issues with the family or the mother while pregnant) but as far as most adoptive parents go, we've been told we're on the less picky side. Like I said, healthy is the biggest thing with us.
Next, the birth mother literally flips thru a binder/internet at prospective parents and picks them. After we've been selected we can then decide if we want to go forward or pass. The agency we're going with told us that after the initial four week period, the average time to wait is about six months. We have a couple advantages in that we're both educated, have good jobs, we're very young (comparatively, most adoptive parents are close to 10 years older than us), we're exceptionally good looking, and come from very stable families.
We get picked sometime around the seventh month of pregnancy, so we don't have a whole lot of time to get our stuff together after that. When our birth mother goes into labor we get a phone call telling us and we drive/hop on a plane to wherever she is. We then pick the baby up from the hospital and have to stay in that state for 'X' amount of time (it differs from state to state, but it'll be 4-7 days most likely) It takes time for all the paperwork, etc to go through.
They say 50% of adoptions fall thru, mostly because the mother gives birth then changes her mind, which is very understandable.
Now each state is different. An adoption can not be finalized until after the mom gives birth, and depending on the state, she has between 1 and 3 days to reneg on the agreement. Meaning, we could be in a hotel room waiting for the legal paperwork to go thru, with the baby, and we could get a call saying the mom changed her mind. It doesn't happen often, but it can happen. And before the adoption is finalized, we'll also need to come to an agreement with the birth mother regarding future correspondence (if she even wants any) Most likely, we'll be open to a yearly letter with pictures to her, that goes thru the adoption agency (so she won't know our last names/address). But like I said, it's a mutual agreement between us and her.
Now here's where we enlist your help. Adoption through an agency can get very expensive. Private adoption is much much cheaper. So basically I'm asking you this… if you know anyone out here, a friend of a friend of a friend's daughter or whatever, who is pregnant but doesn't want to keep the child, feel free to pass along our story (no last names please). I know it's highly unlikely, but its worth a shot.
Also, as you can tell since I'm posting this on a little thing called the World Wide Web, not the J Web, this is not a secret. They say you're supposed to tell anyone and everyone (especially priests/ministers/rabbi's whomever) about it because you never know if a private adoption will work out. I know finding out about this news via our website isn't the best, but our families are just so big and there are just too many people to tell in person, so I'm sorry about that :)
I probably forgot to say something here, so feel free to ask any questions if you have any. The wife and I are more than willing to answer them. Also, our parents know most of the answers too, so you can ask them if you don't want to ask us.
Occasionally, I'll post updates, but we really don't anticipate any for the next four or so weeks. But when we know what's going on, you'll know.
Being a parent is something I've always wanted. I learned from the best so I figure I'll be pretty darn good at it too. So this will cost us a little more than the natural way, but to us it's 100% worth it, and we're just so excited! This tiny little baby will need a good and loving home and we think we have the perfect place for it. Heck, we have three extra bedrooms, we might as well fill them right!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Any Interest?
Two things...
First off, we bought a vanity for the bathroom a while back. Didn't measure right and it doesn't fit and of course the store was going out of business so we can't return it. I can't seem to get the picture to come up, but if you go to the Home Depot website and type in the sku..258851.. then it'll bring you to it. We also have the matching mirror. Total cost in the store $275, but if anyone out there is interested, make us an offer. I need to get the darn thing out of the dining room! (vanity has been out of the box once and the mirror box hasn't been opened yet)
Ok, next item. A buddy brought this to my attention recently, and I think I'm going to give it a go...check it out.. I'm starting tomorrow night, so we'll see what happens. Right now, I can only do like 25 push ups before my arms get too tired. How sad is that?! At one point in my life, I was in pretty darn good shape, but that time is not now (high school, 4% body fat. now.. i don't want to talk about it). Hopefully by the end of the program I'll be able to pump out the 100 straight not problem.
Good news, the new downstairs toilet went in completely problem free. We were originally going to wait until we redid the kitchen/2nd bath before putting in the new toilet, but because I really didn't want to return another one, we saved it from the upstairs debacle and decided to install it downstairs. Looks great, no leaks, perfect.
And lastly, soccer fans, you need to check out this video. How many times have you tried to pull this off and it never works! And speaking of soccer, anyone else catch the Germany/Turkey game today? I, like a lot of other people, tried to watch it, but lightning hit the international feeds tv tower earlier in the day so the signal kept going out. And of course, the last two goals, which were scored in the last 10 minutes of play, weren't seen by anyone outside the local feed. Ooh well, that's what Sportscenter is for, right?
First off, we bought a vanity for the bathroom a while back. Didn't measure right and it doesn't fit and of course the store was going out of business so we can't return it. I can't seem to get the picture to come up, but if you go to the Home Depot website and type in the sku..258851.. then it'll bring you to it. We also have the matching mirror. Total cost in the store $275, but if anyone out there is interested, make us an offer. I need to get the darn thing out of the dining room! (vanity has been out of the box once and the mirror box hasn't been opened yet)
Ok, next item. A buddy brought this to my attention recently, and I think I'm going to give it a go...check it out.. I'm starting tomorrow night, so we'll see what happens. Right now, I can only do like 25 push ups before my arms get too tired. How sad is that?! At one point in my life, I was in pretty darn good shape, but that time is not now (high school, 4% body fat. now.. i don't want to talk about it). Hopefully by the end of the program I'll be able to pump out the 100 straight not problem.
Good news, the new downstairs toilet went in completely problem free. We were originally going to wait until we redid the kitchen/2nd bath before putting in the new toilet, but because I really didn't want to return another one, we saved it from the upstairs debacle and decided to install it downstairs. Looks great, no leaks, perfect.
And lastly, soccer fans, you need to check out this video. How many times have you tried to pull this off and it never works! And speaking of soccer, anyone else catch the Germany/Turkey game today? I, like a lot of other people, tried to watch it, but lightning hit the international feeds tv tower earlier in the day so the signal kept going out. And of course, the last two goals, which were scored in the last 10 minutes of play, weren't seen by anyone outside the local feed. Ooh well, that's what Sportscenter is for, right?
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
FREEDOM!!!
Well, not really, but the wife is down in Boston for the night, she has to be in the office for work tomorrow, so I get the house all to myself. So you'd figure I'd drink lots of beer, have a big ole steak or a pizza for dinner and hang around and watch tv/play video games all night right? Well, sorta. I did have a couple of beers (JW Dundee's Honey Brown. it really doesn't get much better), but I had a salad for dinner. Lame, I know. Work was done around the house (we have visitors coming this weekend), but a lot of tv is being watched also...
Ok first off, did we ever post pictures of the plants the wife planted in the front of the house? Well here are some I took today...
As you can see, she really did a great job. I added some more mulch this evening though. The little plants next to the wall will grow and eventually drape over the wall. The bushes will grow to about three feet hopefully, filling that space right up. And she even planted some vines along the porch that'll hopefully one day climb up the front of the porch. The lights only kinda sorta work. It seems that they work when they feel like it, but not a minute sooner. They're the solar powered ones, and that area gets tons of sunlight. Maybe if we had spent more than $40 for eight of them, they might work better.
So I had a dentist appointment today. I figured I'd be an adult and go before something started hurting right. Bad idea. I don't eat candy. I don't drink juice. I don't drink soda. I consume minimal amounts of sugar, yet the dentist always always always finds 103 things wrong. At least this time they didn't try to lecture me, they were actually very nice about it.
I still got it... had a young lady driving next to me wave and say hi... yep.. chicks still dig me...
Anyone else watch WipeOut tonight on ABC? Fun stuff. Very entertaining. Then again, they are appealing to the lowest common denominator of tv viewers, which I of course am. As long as they mix up the obstacle course from time to time, I'll continue to watch. People getting hit in the groin, bouncing off things and generally making an ass of themselves is always funny to me. Now I just need to figure out how I get on the show.
Still sad that we're not getting, and still unable to find.. Kenny Chesney tickets for the July concert. Oh well.
Did you see this study that was done recently? I thought it was a pretty interesting read...
Ok first off, did we ever post pictures of the plants the wife planted in the front of the house? Well here are some I took today...
As you can see, she really did a great job. I added some more mulch this evening though. The little plants next to the wall will grow and eventually drape over the wall. The bushes will grow to about three feet hopefully, filling that space right up. And she even planted some vines along the porch that'll hopefully one day climb up the front of the porch. The lights only kinda sorta work. It seems that they work when they feel like it, but not a minute sooner. They're the solar powered ones, and that area gets tons of sunlight. Maybe if we had spent more than $40 for eight of them, they might work better.So I had a dentist appointment today. I figured I'd be an adult and go before something started hurting right. Bad idea. I don't eat candy. I don't drink juice. I don't drink soda. I consume minimal amounts of sugar, yet the dentist always always always finds 103 things wrong. At least this time they didn't try to lecture me, they were actually very nice about it.
I still got it... had a young lady driving next to me wave and say hi... yep.. chicks still dig me...
Anyone else watch WipeOut tonight on ABC? Fun stuff. Very entertaining. Then again, they are appealing to the lowest common denominator of tv viewers, which I of course am. As long as they mix up the obstacle course from time to time, I'll continue to watch. People getting hit in the groin, bouncing off things and generally making an ass of themselves is always funny to me. Now I just need to figure out how I get on the show.
Still sad that we're not getting, and still unable to find.. Kenny Chesney tickets for the July concert. Oh well.
Did you see this study that was done recently? I thought it was a pretty interesting read...
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Randomness
- How amazing is this. Tiger Woods is so good that even his caddy is in the top ten on the PGA money list.
- I bought my mother a set of golf clubs, but they were too big for her, so the wife has decided to keep them. I think if she's patient and takes a couple of lessons she could actually be pretty good. We'll see though.
- You know there's nothing good on tv when I'm sitting here at 8:30 on Sunday night watching Star Wars: The Phantom Menace on Spike... and it's not even in HD.
- So I'm listening to the radio the other, a country station of course, and this new song comes on that I've never heard. I'm thinking to myself, boy this sounds a lot like Hootie and the Blowfish. Low and behold, it kinda was... Hootie, minus the Blowfish. Darius Rucker is releasing a new country album and I gotta say that the first song off the cd is actually really good.
- I feel like I married a 13 year old, circa 1991. Everytime the wife gets a hold of the radio in the car, out pops the ipod and I get to listen to the new New Kids song Summertime. Now it's stuck in my head, and has been for the past three days. Not good times
- Might have a bit of news to talk about Tuesday/Wednesday. We'll see how the week goes though, check back then.
- So after a Boston sports team wins a championship (which happens on a fairly regular basis at this point) I go buy all the magazines, posters, dvd's, bobbleheads... anything that's about that team really. So I've gotta go buy the new Sports Illustrated and all that. But if anyone out there sees anything fun, let me know ok. We don't have the biggest selection up here, so I'd appreciate the extra sets of eyes out there.
- I recently picked up an Entertainment Weekly subscription. I've had one in the past, but after a favorite writer of mine moved from TvGuide over to EW, I figured I'd pick it up again. So now we get EW, Esquire, This Old House and Real Simple (I have no idea what this is, its the wife's).
- So we got to spend some time this weekend with my friends eighteen month old. She's such a happy little girl, bouncing around the house, talking up a storm... and the best part. She can totally say my name. Not the easiest name in the world for a kid to pronounce, but she's got it down, and even knows it me haha.
Weekend Report
Very good weekend all around, which didn't exactly start off pleasantly. We were supposed to leave for Boston Friday night, but I got stuck at work until about 9, so that didn't work out. Thankfully, I have the best wife ever though. Neither of us had had dinner at that point, so she let me pick our destination. The 99. Can't go wrong there. Upon walking in, I was really in the mood for a salad, but instead settled for the mini bbq pulled pork burgers and the honey bbq tenders, which for my buck are simply the best around. Of course, this was topped off with a blueberry mojito for the wife (complete with sugar cane) and a beer so big I could have moved two of my tenants into it. Good times.
Saturday we made the drive to Boston, where we hung out with some friends for a bit before I left for the American Craft Beer Festival in downtown Boston. I went with three friends and had a fantastic time. Normally in this space I would write about all the beers I tried, but I didn't bring a pen and paper and well... I had lots of beer so the memory isn't exactly the best. We did however, have a great time, so now I need to convince the guys to head to Denver for the next festival.
After beer, we met up with the wives and some more friends for dinner and a movie. Get Smart was the flick of choice and I actually thought it was really funny. Funnier than expected too... and yes, I know I'm too young to really remember the tv show, but I know the concept etc., and really enjoyed it.
Today we hit gramma and papa's for a bit then headed home. All in all, a very good weekend and we're looking forward to the next one, as the mother in law and a friend are coming to visit.
Saturday we made the drive to Boston, where we hung out with some friends for a bit before I left for the American Craft Beer Festival in downtown Boston. I went with three friends and had a fantastic time. Normally in this space I would write about all the beers I tried, but I didn't bring a pen and paper and well... I had lots of beer so the memory isn't exactly the best. We did however, have a great time, so now I need to convince the guys to head to Denver for the next festival.
After beer, we met up with the wives and some more friends for dinner and a movie. Get Smart was the flick of choice and I actually thought it was really funny. Funnier than expected too... and yes, I know I'm too young to really remember the tv show, but I know the concept etc., and really enjoyed it.
Today we hit gramma and papa's for a bit then headed home. All in all, a very good weekend and we're looking forward to the next one, as the mother in law and a friend are coming to visit.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Did You Miss Me?
Yep, I'm back, which means now you can effectively kill 10 minutes of your day at work, while simultaneously being bored and wondering why I'm not more witty.
So I've been pretty busy lately, actually really busy. I was down in Boston Sunday thru Wednesday for a training class for work. I spent the days being bored and the nights showing a buddy I work with (who also had to take the class) around Boston. Sunday night we stayed in the hotel bar where Phil and Sue met up with us and we drank $6 Bud Light drafts while watching the first half of the Celtics game. A $16 hamburger and three beers later, I called it a night and watched the rest of the game in my room.
Monday night we walked around Fanuiel Hall and ate at The Beantown Pub, which is one of my favorite Boston bars. Good food, attentive waitress' and it's off the beaten path as far as tourists attractions go.
Tuesday night we walked down Boylston/Newbury streets, over to Fenway Park and ate at the Cask N' Flaggon. I gotta say, they really cleaned it up since the last time I was over there and it was actually pretty nice. Food was good, bar service was good, it was a nice surprise. And of course Tuesday night I sat in my hotel room and watched the Celtics game. What a game! Everything that needs to be said about the series and the Celtics has been said, but I will add this...I'm sooo glad the playoff are over so I can finally go to bed at a normal hour! I'm a creature of habit, and my habit is to be in bed by 10:30 every night. During the playoffs, I wasn't in bed until at least midnight after the games, which made for a cranky J.
Figures though... I work for the Celtics and they're absolutely horrible. The wife and I decide to move to Maine, so no more Celtics, and what happens? They make all sorts of great trades, everything pans out and they win it all! To think.. if I had stayed I could have had a ring! Well maybe not a ring, but some sort of playoff bonus...
Going to the American Craft Beer Fest this weekend. Should be a really great time too. I'm going with a couple of buddies and meeting up with the wives afterwards. I'm just hoping that I'm able to function after 3.5 hours of drinking 3 oz beers..I'm guessing most likely not, but who knows, maybe I'll pick up a tolerance between now and then.
I promise I'll write more starting next week, not that you were all worried or anything. But I do realize that some of you depend on this blog! I know you need my help in killing those gruesome eight hours you're at your desk in your cubicle (or if you're cool like me, your office).
Oh and I forgot to mention that our new toilet finally came in!!! We finally have a toilet on the second floor again. So that bathroom is basically all down, we just need to finish up the shower. It would have been done sooner, but the toilet situation really killed us. Pictures will be posted next week when we have more time..
So I've been pretty busy lately, actually really busy. I was down in Boston Sunday thru Wednesday for a training class for work. I spent the days being bored and the nights showing a buddy I work with (who also had to take the class) around Boston. Sunday night we stayed in the hotel bar where Phil and Sue met up with us and we drank $6 Bud Light drafts while watching the first half of the Celtics game. A $16 hamburger and three beers later, I called it a night and watched the rest of the game in my room.
Monday night we walked around Fanuiel Hall and ate at The Beantown Pub, which is one of my favorite Boston bars. Good food, attentive waitress' and it's off the beaten path as far as tourists attractions go.
Tuesday night we walked down Boylston/Newbury streets, over to Fenway Park and ate at the Cask N' Flaggon. I gotta say, they really cleaned it up since the last time I was over there and it was actually pretty nice. Food was good, bar service was good, it was a nice surprise. And of course Tuesday night I sat in my hotel room and watched the Celtics game. What a game! Everything that needs to be said about the series and the Celtics has been said, but I will add this...I'm sooo glad the playoff are over so I can finally go to bed at a normal hour! I'm a creature of habit, and my habit is to be in bed by 10:30 every night. During the playoffs, I wasn't in bed until at least midnight after the games, which made for a cranky J.
Figures though... I work for the Celtics and they're absolutely horrible. The wife and I decide to move to Maine, so no more Celtics, and what happens? They make all sorts of great trades, everything pans out and they win it all! To think.. if I had stayed I could have had a ring! Well maybe not a ring, but some sort of playoff bonus...
Going to the American Craft Beer Fest this weekend. Should be a really great time too. I'm going with a couple of buddies and meeting up with the wives afterwards. I'm just hoping that I'm able to function after 3.5 hours of drinking 3 oz beers..I'm guessing most likely not, but who knows, maybe I'll pick up a tolerance between now and then.
I promise I'll write more starting next week, not that you were all worried or anything. But I do realize that some of you depend on this blog! I know you need my help in killing those gruesome eight hours you're at your desk in your cubicle (or if you're cool like me, your office).
Oh and I forgot to mention that our new toilet finally came in!!! We finally have a toilet on the second floor again. So that bathroom is basically all down, we just need to finish up the shower. It would have been done sooner, but the toilet situation really killed us. Pictures will be posted next week when we have more time..
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