A new life; same as the old life?

I have been interviewed about my blog.Nothing special, but this guy interviews people I guess he finds interesting. Pay him a visit if you have a mind to. Click here to read my interview.

A short post, just to show off a couple of pictures. Lorraine and I have been meaning to post these for a while, but everything just gets on top of you! All is well with the baby, we have been working on our registry, reading like crazy and this weekend we attend our first baby class "Caring For Your Newborn" So with no further delay, here are a couple of pics of the the tummy.

I know I have been neglecting you, my readers, for a while now, as can be seen from my background still being a winter scene. I really need to get out and take some more pictures. This year started at a heck of a clip; new responsibilities at work and baby on the way, to name but two. I have been watching the Cubbies try to be more consistent, and failing! Although I still believe they can do it this year. More consistency in winning the one run and extra innings games will help, and the bullpen seems to be coming together better of late. One thing we have been focusing on recently was the need for a second vehicle. Having bought the HHR for Lorraine really, earlier this year, and with the baby on the way, we felt after two years that we probably needed a second car. For the last several weeks, I have been trying to decide if I wanted a fun, two seater , or two plus sports car or another truck. As a result, I have been across the board looking at all sorts, including the Corvette abo...

and no I don't mean the washed up star that was Jon Secada is coming to town, but in fact that we have a phenomenon here in the midwest , that apparently happens every 17 years. Ci cada (as they should be spelled) larvae laid 17 years ago hatch and start their short journey to reproduce. The climb out of their hole in the ground, and up into nearby trees. It is not all trees, only certain types, but I have been unable to find out which ones. There is precious little information about this event available on the Internet , and to be honest I was beginning to doubt it would ever happen. However, whilst at a friends house last night, we saw the evidence. Literally hundreds of shells on the ground and hanging from leaves on the tree. Evidence that in fact some number had hatched and flown away to do their thing. I have more pictures to post, but they will have to wait until I get to a decent internet connection. Here is a link to the Tribune coverage.

It's over 20 weeks now, and we have just had the scan. The baby looks like a really small person now with arms, legs, fingers, toes, nose, features, etc. We could have found out the sex if we had wanted to, but we felt like we would prefer the surprise. We have just had the MIL and SIL here for a while, and they were able to come to see the scan and hear the heartbeat, there was much teariness! You know what girls are like, although I will confess to a small lump in the throat, especially when the lady was pointing out all the little bits, fingers, toes, heart, nose, it is incredibly detailed (for those of you who have not done this yet) My friend Charlie tells me it has changed his life, and it certainly seems to have had an effect on him. I can't wait..I have been out buying toys and stuff already! Anyway, I won't bore you with any more, but I hope you like the pics, although GI Joe is a little squeamish about this sort of stuff, lord help him if he ever has to go through...

Well it's been a while since I posted any news about what is going on here with us, so I thought I would kinda pull together thoughts from the last few months. The first and most exciting news is our forthcoming new addition. Our first child is due September 25 th , for those of you who haven't read in a little while or seen the posting, click here . All is well, and we are trying to plan our year, including any trips, especially where flying is involved, before it is too late for Lorraine to fly. According to the due date we are at 15 weeks right now, and there is not much else to tell. She is not really showing yet, no kicking, etc. She was as sick as a dog on dodgy dog food for the whole first tri mester , and whilst she is much better now, she still has some issues in the evening. I mention the dodgy dog food intentionally because of an issue which is only getting worse here in the US. For months a major rebranding manufacturer (name withheld to protect from law suits :-) ...

Fans of Google and practical jokes will love this. I hope they don't mind me using their logo or publicising their sense of humour, cos I think year it is particularly funny. In the past Google have had many practical jokes for April Fools Day, you can see the old ones by clicking here . Don't leave it too long though, cos I don't know how long the links will stay active for. This year's fabulous effort is here . Make sure you click on all of the links, especially the Installation Guide, and the Press Release, but they are all worth your time, I promise.

The Enzo Ferrari, styled by Pininfarina , was launched in 2003 in a blaze of glory. Built to look like an F1 car from the front at least, it was a beautiful piece of machinery. If I remember rightly, you could only own one by invite, and only people who owned at least two other Ferraris were invited. Currently it is valued at approx $1.5m. When they were building it, they believed that they could sell 400 of the cars based on their customer database etc, so they only made 399, so that the value would always remain high. Current owners include Eric Clapton and Jay Kay. You can see all sorts of specs and tests if you click here . You may wonder why I am telling you all of this. Well, it seems that there may be one less of these beautiful vehicles, or at least, one less roadworthy example. Click here if you want to see what happens to this one being driven by Eddie Griffin . Apparently it belonged to the producer of a show called Redline , Daniel Sadek , he had loaned it to make the pr...

That's right, we have been thinking about this for a while and "working" on it for the last 8 months or so. Lorraine asked for just one thing for Christmas, she wanted to be pregnant. Well, according to the first scan I delivered on the exact right day, as the due date is currently 25th September! We tested on the weekend of 20th/21st January, and the doctor confirmed the test results on 24th. Our first scan picture, below, was taken on 27th February. The head is on the right, and the little hand is just pulling back for the back swing, I wanted to get started early with the coaching! We are, of course, very very excited, and now that we are in the second trimester, we are actually able to share this news with you all. This last scan picture was taken on the 12 week scan.

There is a very funny Scottish show, from the BBC, that has been around for a few years now. It is called Chewin' The Fat, which coloquially means havin' a chat, a chinwag, shootin' the breeze, etc. It can be hard for non Scots to understand as the accents are pretty broad and they talk very quickly with lots of slang; but when someone showed me this today, I couldn't resist posting it. It is a Star Trek "pisstake" that, for me, was hilarious. Have a watch, you might just agree, careful though, as there is a little swearword or two or should I say a wee sweery! Taysiders In Space They have a website too, with some other stuff, if you want to check it out.

If you read my last post and clicked on the link, then you would have seen a facsimilie of Lorraine's new car, this one here is the actual real deal, or at least as close as it gets without me actually taking pictures of it, which I might do if the weather ever clears up! We love it. Just got it back from it's first visit to the "shop" for the protective leather, carpets, paint and under body coatings. We had a Chevy Trail Blazer on loan and I have to say it was uninspiring at best, so my next vehicle will likely be another pickup truck. Anyway, more pictures and a review are here if you are interested.

I have been talking to my friends in the UK, or rather mostly Lorraine has, but either way, the common message is how cold it is, how much snow they have had, etc. By all accounts and certainly by UK standards both statements are true. A couple of years ago, I certainly would have been making similar statements. They have had several inches of snow, and the temperature has been hovering around freezing for some time now. Putting this in context, and I am sure people could similarly compare us to Oswego County , in upstate New York (Charlie I know you don't normally click my links, but this one is worth it!). Over the last couple of weeks, we have had temperatures as low as -20c and as low as -30c with the wind chill, and I am talking for several days at a shot. It also seems that every time the temperature rises to anywhere near freezing, then we get snow. Today is the warmest it has been for a while, and we had about 3-4" of snow last night, with another 4-12" forecast ...

That's right folks, just like all the other slobs, it's the New Year and I find myself at the gym. We joined this 24 hour place back in the fall of last year, and personally I have been in about 4 times including tonight! Starting small again with some biking and some weights, it is amazing how much fitness and strength I have lost since I stopped working out regularly. I don't know how long it will last, but I would like to get a little fitter by the start of the golf season, and maybe get a few extra yards on my drives. If nothing else I would like to be able to get my fat ass up two flights of stairs without breathing heavily. What I really need though is a training buddy. Personal trainers work! I know, I used to have one, but they are expensive. If I can find someone as fat and unfit as me, then maybe, just maybe we can spur each other on. My neighbour is out, cos he is got way too big of a start on me and he is way too keen, being there almost every night. I do have s...

Now those who know me will know that I know jack about American Football. However as I did last year with the White Sox , I have been keenly watching the Bears results and progression throughout the season and the play-offs. Today I went to a friends place to watch the last game before Superbowl XLI (41 for us dummies) The Bears were playing the fans favourite and heavily favoured New Orleans Saints, for their first chance to go to the Superbowl since the 1985/86 season. All of the omens were in their favour, with the snow coming down, and Patriots (the team they beat in '86) possibly on their way to the Superbowl too. It's an interesting thing, watching this 3+ hour game (in which incidentally there are only about 30 minutes of actual plays) with a bunch of long time fans. If you speak to anyone in the Chicagoland area about Rex Grossman , their current Quarterback, and essentially one of the key men that got them to this position, you will invariably hear tales of woe about...

It has been a quiet start to the year both for us and for the weather. It has been one of the warmest winters on record with Chicago with many golf courses still being open. Of course I planned to play last weekend and the weather took a turn for the worse! All last week, they were predicting a "winter blitz", but honestly for us here in the Northern Suburbs it has been more or a winter fart, with a small f! In recent weeks, most of you will have seen the weather in Colorado, several feet of snow, two weekends in a row over the holiday season, and us with nothing. Lorraine, Reggie and I got quite excited about the forthcoming blitz, with predictions of up to 8" of snow. As the date drew nearer, the forecasters dropped the predictions, daily, and ul timately forecast 1-2" on Sunday and 1-2" on Monday. It is now Monday evening and we have had more like 1/2" overnight and almost nothing today. It is going to be damned cold, with lows between 16f (-9c) and 9...

I am truly grateful for all the wonderful people and things in my life. I have a wonderful loving & caring wife, a very supportive family back home (despite my not visiting them very often) and probably the most well behaved and mannered dog in the world. I have terrific friends all over the world, including a number of bloggers I have never even met! I get to work with some awesome people in a job that I really enjoy, and at the same time allows me the freedom to do the the things I love to do, like Habitat, play bad golf and ski. All in all, the last 18 months have really been the pinnacle of a life I have, for the most part, enjoyed to it's fullest. As another year closes out I find myself wishing for only one thing. Several more years to do it all over again! Happy New Year to one and all!

What a festive season it has been this year. We had a packed month planned between a city trip, checking out the lights in the neigbourhood , visiting Santa in the town square, a Christmas party and some friends for dinner on Christmas Day. Work has been a little quieter throughout December, but we have had a lot of fun decorating the office and adopting a family for Christmas. There are pictures here . This picture is from the Kris Kringle market in the city, but more of that later. The first event was the lighting of the Libertyville tree and a visit from Santa. The high street looked excellent and many shops had taken part in a local competition for the best windows. One of the local choirs came along and were singing Christmas carols. You can see some pictures here of the lights, the town tree, and some of the neighbourhood lights. The next event was the city trip. We wanted to check out the biggest and oldest flea market (car boot sale) in the city, since the late 1800s. We boug...

Here's Why! I received this email today from our local Habitat chapter. "I want to tell you how exited I am because I was "dyeing" to give money to buy a house for a person out there who didn't have one." Ellie, 9 years old I was "dyeing" to give money. Ellie's words brought a smile as I opened the envelope containing her bright pink construction paper card, decorated with a rainbow and a pot of gold. With the certainty of a very wise person, Ellie told us she chose Habitat because we put our money to good use. This is a high honor from a nine year old of limited means. Later, Ellie told me that when she lost her second tooth, she decided to save her tooth fairy money so she could buy a Habitat house. She added several years of birthday money to Hanukkah money. For her 9th birthday, she requested donations to Habitat instead of gifts. She even returned several gifts, so she could make sure there was enough money for a house. Her gift totaled $9...

I cannot claim to have researched this story at all. I just heard it on the radio this morning and thought it was an incredible story. Just the size of the extended family is mind boggling, but think of the things she has seen! The world's oldest living woman has died at the age of 116 in a nursing home in Memphis, Tennessee. Elizabeth "Lizzie" Bolden held the title for just over three months, according to Guinness World Records, following the death in August of Maria Esther de Capovilla of Ecuador, who was also 116. Mrs Bolden, was born on a cotton farm in Fayette County, Tennessee, to freed slaves and worked as a farmer. In 2004, she suffered a stroke which left her unable to speak and moved into a centre where she spent much of her time sleeping. Born Elizabeth Jones on August 15 1890, she married Lewis Bolden and had seven children, two of whom, "Queen" Esther Rhodes, 89, and Mamie Brittmon, 86, still live in the Memphis area. Mr Bolden died in the 1950s. Ac...

Most of you will know that I am a supporter of the Habitat For Humanity charity. I volunteer regularly at the Lake County affiliate here in the Chicagoland area, and always have a great time. Like any charity, of course, they always need more money. Right now, they are working to build a whole new subdivision of homes and most of their funds are being sucked up by building new roads and sewerage systems, which means that vital supplies and tools are really in short supply. This isn't helped by volunteers losing or accidentally removing tools from the job site. I was out there at the weekend, and saw for myself the struggle they are having with basics such as utility knives, which cost only $2 each, but they currently only have two left. I purchased 10 for them right there and then. I don't tell you this for kudos or plaudits, but to show you how easily you could help them with a very small donation. So I decided to try to raise funds for them to buy these essential supplies. I...