Happy Birthday To Me!

Another year has come and gone...
Suddenly I am in my late 30s and I have no idea how I got here.   It seems like just the other day I was a young whipper-snapper trying to figure out what to do with my life.  Now I'm 37 years old and still trying to figure it out.
This last year has been quite the doozy.  Starting a new job.  Starting a 2nd job to supplement the new job.  The birth of my daughter.  Parenthood!  I'm a father!  There are still days when I wake up and have to remind myself that I am a parent.  It still seems like something so foreign to my understanding.
We're making it work, though, as best we can.  Hopefully, soon I will be on track to better support this family of mine, and I will be able to focus on enjoying the 1st year of the Button's life.  That is my goal for the next 365 days.  I want to settle the job uncertainty, and give myself permission to really be present and invested in the time I spend with my family.  Right now it often feels like I'm just spending time trying to stay awake between alternating shifts at my jobs.  I know the next year will bring its own set of challenges but I hope that when I post about my birthday next year I will be able to say that the late 30s have been kind to me.

Thank You Easter Bunny!

When I was a kid my Mom would make these cookies. I loved these cookies so much. These Easy Peanut Butter Fudge Cookies were amazing.

Sara decided to use my Mom's recipe to make these Easter desserts for our family get together today.

Here you see the resulting cookies with malted milk 'Robin' eggs to make the cook look like a birds nest. I sampled one of the cookies last night when I got home from work and let me tell you it's like eating a childhood memory!


(This is a neglected post. I wrote it, saved it as a draft and then forgot to post.)

Spring Break Has Sprung!

I'm on vacation! Sort of... I'll still work my shifts at Job # 2 but I will sleep in everyday that I am able. Gonna spend some quality time with the wife and kid. We're gonna hit up the season opener at the Bowie Baysox with our family. Bert & Stephanie are in town from Chicago so we'll get to spend some time with them. Oh, and our taxes! We always seem to wait until the last minute on our taxes so we'll be trying to get those out of the way this week. This will probably not be the most exciting Spring Break ever but I will try to make the most of it.

If you look back at my Spring Break posts from last year you will see that Sara and I drove down to Asheville, NC to visit friends and enjoy the mountains. What you won't glean from those posts is that Sara and I were trying, at the time, to wrap our heads around the fact that we were soon going to be parents. We spent the whole time away wondering what life was going to be like when we came home and reality set in. It all seems like so long ago.

If you go back even further - go back to Spring Break of 2008 - you will see pictures from our adventures in Northern California. We spent our Honeymoon in San Francisco, exploring the city, and up in a cabin in Boonville, compliments of my Aunt & Uncle (Thank You Very Much!). We walked around the city, ate good food, road the ferry to Tiburon, drove into the mountains, drank good wine, and enjoyed the countryside. It was a fabulous time!

This Spring Break will be spent locally, and much of the time will be spent on little mundane tasks. There will be no great adventures. No travels. No escape from our everyday. Sometimes a vacation is just a slowing down of our chaotic existences.

What A Fool

I missed it again. Today is the 1st of April and I did not even see it coming. In fact, I was at work for several hours before I realized it was April Fools' Day. This has been a trend that's developed over that last few years. I cannot help but to be a little disappointed in myself.

Back in the day, boy, I was a funny little bugger! I would plan elaborate pranks. I would scheme. I joke around with my coworkers. I crack wise when the opportunity presents itself. I still love good practical jokes, and I believe I still have a great sense of humor I just am having a hard time being funny when society says I should. I