Around Here...

Scenes from this fall...

I'm still here.  Still happy and full (of turkey and baby).  Still excited to meet this little one but so very much enjoying these last few days of being pregnant.  

And happy, happy, happy, happy, happy.

Flashback

For those that may not know, this blog is not our first foray into the 'blogosphere'. Years ago, back in the beginning of my journey as a believer and ours as a married couple, I put together this somewhat-scary website on Geocities. The reason I'm 'exposing' myself and my mediocre web design skills is because Geocities will soon be shutting down for good.

What you will see on this website will probably be somewhat surprising to some of you. I was incredibly exuberant at the beginning of my walk as a believer and it is dramatically evident in how I constructed this webpage. Needless to say, I am still as exuberant in my faith - even more so, in fact - but probably slightly less dramatic.

http://www.geocities.com/jonemi2000/

One of the more interesting parts of the website are some pictures I posted from our wedding. (Let me tell you, those falling flowers were hard to make work correctly!)

And for humor, you'll see how we thought we were going to go to Trinidad to be missionaries when, in fact, it was about us being introduced to Elijah Centre, which is now our home church. Needless to say, we deep-sixed our plans to go to the mission field.

So stop by and enjoy my over-use of graphics and such. I lost the password to the site and Yahoo doesn't believe it's me who created it, no matter what I tell them... oh well.

Enjoy!

Me and My Boys

I've been incommunicado for a bit as it seems like there's a million things to do and never enough time to do them. Even so, you get a nice bit of rest every now and again.

What this blurry picture is showing you is me catching a quick 'cat nap' (pun completely intended and way over used) with Owen and Cass. Since we've moved to Baltimore and Cass stayed behind to continue enjoying the wilderness beauty at High Point with Joya, I rarely get opportunities like this to enjoy his company. This one was too good to pass up.

As soon as I sat down on the coach with Owen, Cass immediately jumped up, ran over, and climbed down into my lap. It's just too bad we couldn't lounge all afternoon.

Lazing

Nothing beats a Friday afternoon snuggle on the couch.  

And now...a bit of random

I've resolved that not every blog post will be about Owen.  Only 99.5% of them.  But I'm ok with adding a picture of him to every post - even if it has no relation to the story.  So let's just get that out of the way.  

He's so wonderful.  sigh.

Jon is really going back to work this week.  I say really because last week there was a holiday, he worked from home two days, and he came home early another day, and my parents were here for a few days.  We both need to ease into this separation thing.  

Having family here helped distract me from the fact that my best friend was now not within arms reach.  We kept pretty busy...going to IKEA, Home Depot, TJs (fyi: that's Trader Joe's), and doing all manner of home improvement.  Like hanging these beautiful yellow curtains.  And finally finishing the tile in the mini-hall.  (Thanks Dad!!!)

Next week there are no guarantees of such productivity.  

But we will do our best.

D-Day.

Today is the due date.   

It appears to be passing by without any significant changes (i.e. I'm not in labor yet) but it's been a great, productive morning anyway.  So great that I celebrated by making some beautiful (frozen) waffles with raspberries.  Look at the size of these suckers!

The baby has permission to take as long as he needs (within reason) so I'm focusing on staying busy and have been happily puttering around running errands and getting things ready.  Thanks to all my lovely friends who sent me emails saying they were thinking of me today!  :)

On unrelated news - I recently donated my wedding dress to a breast cancer research society.  It served me well and hopefully will make someone else happy too.  I found a couple of pictures that I took of it before I shipped it out.  Little details that made me happy.  

And speaking of happy news...Jon and I found some GREAT pediatricians yesterday evening.  We talked with them for almost an hour and loved their philosophy and general feel.  It is so nice to have that taken care of...hopefully we'll be seeing them again in short order!

Orange you glad...

That we're back posting?  

I am

(Thanks Gbenga for the cool pic.)

I love pears

Probably too much. Is this a pregnancy thing? I brought a pear to work today, thinking I would save it for an afternoon snack. But then I thought about it. Once it was in my brain, the idea of a juicy, delicious pear would not leave.

The poor thing couldn't even make it through a photo shoot.

News from the Front: Assassination Attempt!

I write to you today with a thankful heart for some fast thinking by our security forces.  Apparently upset with my on-the-ground and incisive field reporting, the BE Brigade special forces sent an assassin to silence me.

As you can see from the fuzzy picture below, this image was captured either shortly before or after my coffee cup was poisoned.  

 

While I normally plunged head-long into my vital morning cup of joe, our friendly and vigilant security forces were able to prevent the plot from being successful.  

While it is difficult to fully describe the situation, you can see a similar reenactment in the video below.

The Office - Fax to the Future | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

Grateful to still be reporting to you here on the front.  

HPV Field Reporter JP

News from the Front: Infiltration

The past week has seen significant successes in the FSDB campaign.  With the Office crew pushed to their limits in manpower and logistics, the 'upper management' was able to call in a key third party to provide air superiority support.  Code-named "MR. ORKIN", this well-known mercenary came in under cover of dark to surprise the BE Brigade with an attack that resulted in ghastly damages.

However, it appears they may be regrouping.  Latest iPhone intel imagery has spotted reconnaissance elements surveying our most precious instruments.

They were identified attempting to tap into our communications...

Potential saboteur activity was seen attempting to cut our power lines...

They've become so bold as to enter into our command post (unfortunately for this fellow, he was not able to transmit his gathered intel before meeting an untimely demise).

The biggest question remaining to our commanders is whether these infiltrators are just the sole survivors of the MR. ORKIN assault or the indicators of a much larger, reinforced BE Bridge offensive.

HPV field reporter JP will be here to bring you the latest updates as they happen.

Why it's good to be a cat

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News from the Front

FlySwatDemBugs Patriots...

HPV field reporter JP reporting in.  The past 24 hours have yielded some promising gains for the FSDB warriors.  Though we've been under intense siege, our newly employed "LightsOut" operation has seen some reversals to yesterdays advances made by the Bravo-Echo brigade.  

A warning to the weak stomach, the latest imagery below is graphic.  War is ugly, my friends. 

Viewer discretion is advised. 

Sgt. R (names are protected to maintain our intel officer's identities) claims this is one of the B-E brigades field generals.  If this proves to be true, it could be a significant blow to their cause. 

Our ground troops have been fortified from central command with more advanced weaponry...

While all this is promising, latest intel imagery suggest we should not be over-jubilant in our outlook...

Yes, that is correct... they have brought in the dreaded mercenary Stink Bug.  Doubly dangerous due to its reinforced armor and its well-known toxic bio-chemical warfare gas that is released upon death.  This development could turn the tide in the B-E brigades favor.

However, our generals are planning their own counter-attack... view our secret weapon!

That's right, the namaqua chameleon!!  Victory is ours!!!

That is all... for now.

NEWS FLASH!: Mass Fly-Swatting Proves Ineffectual

This just in... recently declassified iPhone imagery shows that the office campaign, code-named "FlySwatDemBugs!", has apparently proven ineffectual.  As we can see from the imagery below, the Bravo-Echo (Box Elder) brigade invaders have infiltrated the defensive perimeter and are now moving in to take more territory. 

As you can see from the imagery that is dated with today's date, we have engaged the invaders in close-quarters combat.  I have already had to repel three separate attackers who appeared intent on seizing my keyboard.  In fact, as I write this very article, I am ducking and dodging 'bombing raids" on my current position.  

In a stroke of fortune, our intelligence corps may have found their ultimate target.  They are attracted to the heat of our desk lamps.

With this invaluable intel, we can surely mount a decisive (albeit much darker) counter-attack in short order.

This reporter wishes you all god-speed and, if you do not hear from me again for any reason, know that I have sacrificed committed to the good fight.

Onward "FlySwatDemBugs!" patriots!!!

- HPV (Highpointview) Field reporter, JP

Voting Day

Zoe's outlook on November 4th, 2008.

The cat is in.

Ah, in need of a little voting advice? You've come to the right place.

Let me just whisper it in your ear...

Happy Election Day everyone...don't forget to go vote!

P.S. Happy Anniversary to Dan and Trish!

Trip to Ft. Walton Beach

I'm down in Ft. Walton Beach this week for a work seminar.  It's a sort of marketing type situation where I 'promote' our products all day.  Yes, sales.  Not something I ever thought I'd ever be doing... but it seems to be going well so maybe I'm not so bad.

Here's our table presentation...

A view of the pool...

A view of the beach...

Another view of the beach...

Me hard at work (sort of)...

So, it's surprising that they get any work done * laugh *.  Anyways, I'm having lunch with gramma on Thursday so I'll definitely post more pictures of that.

(Not so) Breaking Geek News!

News Flash... we have our iPhones... repeat, we have our iPhones

Okay, it's not really recent news... but I think it's pretty cool nonetheless.  They are pretty amazing little pieces of technology.  I didn't expect them to be so life-changing.  It's like a computer in your pockets.

Okay... geek-out episode is over now.  By the way, that butterfly picture on my phone is from our little trip that Emily chronicled last week.  I'll have to post some pictures from my hotel in Florida.  I'll be there in Ft. Walton Beach for a business seminar.  The hotel is apparently right on the beach.  Pretty crazy really.  Military people have this crazy notion that work gets done at the beach... hmmm. 

Well...

There is nothing much going on right now. The baby is about the size of an apple and is growing in leaps and bounds.

So, I thought I'd just say hi to all our family and friends. We're still alive and doing well. We have a doctor's appointment next week and we'll be sure to give an update on how things are progressing. Also, don't forget to check every Sunday for the latest "podulation" picture!

Love you all, JP

Poisoned!

Ok, not really... more like poison-ivyed.  Our landlady asked me to cut down a number of trees by the pool this past week.  I was feeling rather manly after managing to chop down 5 trees (okay, some were only a couple inches thick in diameter, but that axe was dull!)... and everything seemed fine.  The next morning I was itchy like a mad man.  

Now, I've never had poison ivy before... and I actually thought I wasn't allergic.  Boy was I wrong.  And those blisters are still driving me crazy.  I'll be wearing total body cover next time I try to mimic Paul Bunyan.