Operation: Rolling Pitter-Pat

Having just discovered the gender of our baby, the Doc wrote the secret onto a piece of paper and sealed it in an envelope. There it would keep until the Baker converted the news into confectionery intel. Like concentric circles, here's how our closest peeps learned of our (forthcoming) baby boy!

Taking the envelope from the Doc's office to the Bakery was torturous. We had to force each other to leave the envelope unopened. After a few days, the cake was finally ready. I went and picked it up alone. Of course, the Baker-lady who brought me the cake knew the secret. She laughed and joked knowingly while I quietly freaked out a little bit. Ali and I had our own little private reveal party on Oct 28th. We cut into the cake and...BLUE!

I "disclosed" mom on a Sunday early in November. We had to force the issue a bit. Grammy-to-be was having the kitchen remodeled but the construction schedule had been totally blown. This created a big dilemma since my idea was to put a balloon in a gift cleverly disguised as a house/remodel warming gift. As the construction schedule got longer (and longer), it started to encroach on the whole-family Thanksgiving announcement. Eventually, it couldn't delay any longer so I forced the issue. She cried when she opened the gift and sooo...success!

We told our immediate family on Thanksgiving via t-shirt message. Ali and I wore t-shirts made with a status bar and read, "Baby Loading. Please wait..." Once we took off our jackets, boom! The secret was out. Ali was showing at this point and there was no hiding our secret any longer. Oddly enough, I can't find a picture of us in our t-shirts. Sorry, world. You'll just have to use your imagination.

Got a few extra hours? Search for 'gender reveal ideas' and...there goes your afternoon. Don't forget to finish my post though... There are so many creative ideas out there. It's impossible not to get caught-up in the excitement; instantly wanting to do some ridiculous number of them (and do something totally unique - which is way more difficult than it sounds)

The Day Ali's Been Waiting For

San Francisco has it's pluses and minuses. Pluses, for example, include the year-round weather, it's the center of the Tech universe and boasts convenient proximity to destinations like Tahoe, Sonoma and Carmel.

It has it's downside too, though. The hipster population density, homeless situation and cost of living are all frightful. Aghh! The later means that apartments are modest in size by American standards. In total, our Nob Hill apartment had 1 bedroom and was less than 550 square feet. It was also the most expensive apartment we've ever rented. It meant that we needed to be a bit creative and always put things away.

Truthfully, we loved that apartment. Not as much as Back Bay but close. We both walked to and from our offices (uphill both ways - seriously). The Victorian architecture and Cable Cars reminded us daily that we were living a special adventure. We had convenient access to everything we could ever need. There was hardly a reason to own a car.

In Maryland, things are different. When Ali & I were looking at apartments, we were amazed at the amount of space (and cost) of what we needed. I never thought I'd say this but...wifey, go buy more stuff! We have more space than we know what to do with!!

Anniversary Getaway

It was 4 years ago Thursday (past) that wifey and I took the plunge into matrimony. What better reason than an anniversary to get acquainted with the Virginia wine scene!?

We called The Inn at Meander Plantation ‘home’ for the weekend and really enjoyed it. Part of the fun was trying to keep Jake out of trouble. The young lad wanted nothing more than to go investigate ALL of the other animals on the plantation. We were on constant watch while walking around the grounds – if it wasn’t the horses that kept us on our toes, then it was the skunk, fox, rabbit, groundhog, or other dogs.

We stayed in one of the little shed/hut things that weren’t attached to the main house. The horse pasture was directly behind us. You can see the fence in the background of this picture. This is where the horses (Lightfoot and Gizmoe) would say, “hello” to us each morning.

 
We visited two fine establishments while in Virginia wine country. The first was the Belmont Farm Distillery (my choice). This was really cool in an ol’ moonshiners-sort-of-way. In fact, this place is just a little bit famous for being in the show, appropriately titled, Moonshiners.

 
This place was cool. Whether deliberate or not, it feels like they’re doing something not entirely legal. They are, however, quick to point out all of the various ways that they’re complying with VA ABC rules and regulations. We brought home a bottle of Kopper Kettle Whiskey, Virginia Lightning Cherry Whiskey, and a mug. Who doesn’t need one more mug??

Of the wines that we tasted while in VA, we liked the Cab Franc from Old House Vineyards the most. We stopped by that vineyard on our way out of town. There will be no pictures of the Old House Vineyards posted today – they’re earned a place on the ‘jerk’ side of the room. …we still bought their wine though.

Jake's New Digs

It's hard to say who's adjusting best to our new home best. Truthfully, we're all feeling a little bit nostalgic and thinking, wow...this is a whole lot of suburb. Jake and I were walking around the neighborhood last week. We came to an intersection, I looked up and remarked that we were at the intersection of Pleasant Drive, Pleasant Circle and Pleasant Way. Jake confirmed. We looked at each other knowing that we should move along before the universe lurched and swallowed us into the permanent void.

There's a small dog park near our Apt but, in defiant fashion, we prefer the people parks! Our 'go-to park' is Needwood. The streams are enough for Jake to wade around and cool down. We had storms recently so the water levels are higher than usual.

We've taken note of many 'Dog Must Remain On Leash' signs. Surely, they aren't serious about that? Don't they know that Jake's in town? This one's taken at Black Hills. It's really weird that I grew up frequenting these places...only to return in my 30's.

Needwood is a squirrel rich environment. Jake approves. When he's not chasing the tennis ball, he's chasing a squirrel. Sometimes he does both simultaneously.

And, of course, the Deleware beaches. A big "Thanks!" to my Aunt and Uncle for letting us stay for a weekend in their DE house.

I hope Jake's enjoying the new home. I bet he's missing his SF pack a bit but we're trying our best to find him a new one!

It's Me or the Beanbag...Don't Answer That

We have this ridiculous (there, I said it) convertible beanbag thing leftover from our move. You might even recognize it. We used it to make the biggest softest bed imaginable for Jake. By all accounts, it did that!

Full disclosure: It also barfed foamy bits all over the car and house. It was also too high for Jake to jump up onto so now my back hurts. It also made it real tough to see out the back window. And now, it occupies a space in our new place.

On the other hand... Jake loves it. And, well, look at him!

The funny story behind this poof of furniture is that we TRIPLE stuffed it. Accidentally. When you order this thing, they offer to send you a second batch of stuffing should you want the marshmallow to be more firm. We accepted their offer. A couple days later, we get a delivery notification but no package. The following day we officially declared the package stolen and called the Company. They were very kind and resent the stuffing. Which arrived safely a couple days later.  Guess what arrived a few days after that!? Yep, the 2nd batch of stuffing.

Feeling like my masculinity was in doubt, I stuffed all 3 batches into the liner and then the case. See how that zipper looks like it's going to bust in that 2nd pic? Yeah. Masculinity restored.

3 Tips for DIY-ers

I love a good DIY project. For a guy that spends more time doing email than virtually anything else, some manual labor (especially if it's a creative outlet) is a welcome project. Here are 3 oft overlooked tips for folks who enjoy the occasional project and the stuff that comes with it.

Time it. Juuuust right. 

DIY projects are like homemade cinnamon buns: you've gotta let 'em bake before unveiling the goodness. OK, ok...horrible analogy. I agree. The literal explanation is even worse.

What I mean is: don't just jump right into the project! You've gotta let the buns bake for a few. It's about managing expectations. Be forewarned: should you make short work of the first project, you're only accelerating the second project (and third and ...) and increasing future complexity.

So how long should you wait before kicking-off the project? Here's my tried and true methodology. First, conservatively estimate the number of hours required to complete the project. Better to over estimate. Second, delay for that many weeks. Third, ta-daah.

Get it in Writing

David's first law of DIY states, "as project commencement nears, the value of verbal commitments to assist decline towards absolute zero." I'll even go one step further and identify a "verbal" for what it is: a bargaining tactic. These are high-pressure negotiation tactics used to pressure you into doing the project.

Verbals are like a 4-legged stool. Each leg of the stool represents a good reason to accept the project. When one of the legs is removed, the stool will still stand. Be prepared to identify and react to these (and other) dirty negotiation tactics.

Keep 'em Coming

DIY projects are an important part of one's identity. And it's important to do a project each quarter so that folks identify you as a DIY-er. This is a key to workshop bliss! Why? Because there are opportunities throughout the year when someone might be inclined to give you a gift. It's at these times that you should refer them to your wishlist of awesome-but-less-than-essential tools. Laser level? Electric sander? Portable jump-starter? Yes, YEs and YES!

I refinished a shelf over the weekend. The piece looks great and I had a good time doing it. Onto the next one! ...but not until Q3, of course.

Putting a Bow on the Relo

It looks like I never completed the chronicle of our cross-country drive. While I had every intention of writing each day, it somehow, didn't quite materialize. In so doing, I inadvertently neglected quite a few highlights.

Tuesday, April 8th - Nashville holds a lot of appeal for Ali and I. For a country music fan like me, how could one NOT make a pilgrimage to Music City!? And then there's that other thing: we're hooked on it's namesake TV series (we're pulling for Juliette & Avery). The Women's Final Four tournament was in town and that made for a fun atmosphere. Since we only have a few hours in every city, we have to rush through the main attractions. We made it to Tootsie's and a few of the other awesome live music joints. Tennessee won the most bucolic* award during the trip. We salute you, Nash Vegas.

Wednesday, April 9th - I'm an ACC Basketball fan so we thought it would be fun to drive a few miles off of the direct route to spend an afternoon and overnight in Durham/Chapel Hill. We were wrong. On the upside, the hotel was nice and the lackluster locale gave us an opportunity to catch-up on our sleep. We don't have a single picture from this day - it's almost like it didn't happen.

Thursday, April 10th - We drove the final leg of the journey today pulling into the Mom's driveway in the afternoon. This was also the site of our first stop on our way from Boston to San Francisco on September 3, 2012. :-)

All told, here's what the route looked like. Three thousand one hundred and six miles.

We got the keys to the new Apt on Friday and our stuff was delivered on Saturday. Jake was promptly reunited with his favorite chair.

*I don't remember how (or why) but 'bucolic' became the official Word of the Trip (WotT). As the WotT, it was ingrained into our lexicon by the time we got to Amarillo. Our disdain for The Word has increased steadily ever since. To this day, hearing The Word gives me the heebie-jeebies...

Stage Four: Fort Smith, AR

This is the most difficult day of the trip because we covered over 600 miles yesterday AND we lost two hours on account of time zone changes. Waking up at 4:30a felt no bueno. Fortunately, today brings our shortest driving distance of the trip.

The highway is starting to play tricks on us. Mirages materialize and vanish in the blink of an eye.  Earlier today, Ali asked, “Is that a bull or a tractor?” Newsflash, people…it’s starting to get weird.

We’re driving through Tornado Alley today and storms are in the forecast so we won’t be making many stops! Here we are trying to thread-the-needle in Oklahoma. Those are two big storms to the left and right. The terrain is so flat that we could see the storm (and watch the lightning) from 30 miles away.

Shortly thereafter a giant Indian Muffler Man delivered a compelling enough reason to stop. Route 66 is way oversold. Is it really necessary to have a “historic” museum every 150 miles?

The real excitement happened after we arrived in Fort Smith. As fate would have it, we found an awesome dog park and a western wear store within walking distance from the hotel. As you can see, I am the proud new owner of a COWBOY HAT and I like it.

 

Of course, everything comes with its challenges. A cowboy hat, for example, cannot be worn inside a car. It’s just too darn big. It’s OK though; I’m sure Nashville will provide abundant opportunity. I wonder what I should name my new friend?

Stage Three: Amarillo, TX

In my preconceptions, I equate Arizona with desert. Imagine my surprise when I stepped outside and found 20-degree temperatures. There’s something clearly wrong with me so I reveled in the brisk morning and quickly decided to clean the windshield before driving out of Flagstaff. I grabbed the washer stick/squeezy/sponge thing and eagerly applied the liquid mixture. Mother nature replied in kind by promptly changing the chemical state of the water from liquid to solid. D’oh! I don’t know whom the low temps surprised more? The state of Arizona because they live in a desert? Or me, because there was no anti-freeze in the windshield wash mixture at the gas station. Ali was nestled inside Lil’ Bird during this little maneuver and apparently enjoyed the show.

We drove out of Flagstaff 10 minutes later…

Arkansas boasts quite a few tier one roadside attractions. We made a quick stop at the Berringer Crater and then headed for Winslow, AZ. Does Winslow, AZ make you think of anything? I’m not a big Eagles fan but even I couldn’t pass-up the opportunity to “stand on the corner in Winslow,Arizona.”

New Mexico had a big teepee.

And then there was Texas! I’ve been looking forward to Amarillo.  We ate at the (ridiculous) Big Texan restaurant (home of the 72 oz steak challenge), listened to any song that mentions Amarillo, and visited the Cadillac Ranch.

I love the idea of standing cars upright in a field. …and, apparently, so does Amarillo. In addition to the Cadillac Ranch, imposter installations are creeping up elsewhere. My favorite? Combine City, which riffs on the Cadillac Ranch idea by replacing Cadillacs with John Deeres.

Stage Two: Flagstaff, AZ

We woke up this morning and are feeling better than we did on Friday after sleeping on the bean bag thing. We leave early each morning so that we can put a few miles behind us before Jake's routine gets started.

Our first stop was in Tehachapi, CA. We rolled in just after dawn to visit the Avenue of Faces and give Jake a chance to run. By the way, scroll down and look at the right side of the blog. Take a look at my Instagram pictures for various photo-ops throughout the drive.

Our diet was not kind to us today. Nope, not at all. It read like a scene of out of Supersize Me. So, it's important that we get exercise. Ha - yeah, right! We'll worry about that when we get to MD. Until then, I'll use the term lightly. Here I am getting my kicks on Route 66.

At certain moments in one's life, one must make the decision of which fork in the road to take in life (metaphorically and literally).  It reminds me of the poem, "The Road Not Taken", although some would say, in this regard, I ended up choosing the road most taken. 

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

- Frost

That's some deep stuff, yeah? ...thank Ali for that! Now, back to the shallows!

Generally speaking, always be weary of roads so well branded in our psyche that it need no marketing, advertising, or PR department. More specifically though, under NO circumstances should you choose Route 66 instead of Interstate 40. Ever! I'll admit that they both run East-West and 66 has it's quaint sections that call to you. However, 66 is the highway equivalent of the prettied-up Grant St section of SF Chinatown in SF.

Stage One: Bakersfield, CA

The objective for today is to escape the gravitational pull of San Francisco. We only need to get a couple hundred miles south and east so that we don't have to deal with the big city traffic on our first full day of travel. This is the only no-nonsense phase of the trip. It's all about getting to Bakersfield.

Once I got to the rental car place I was over-the-moon happy to learn that I'm a Fastbreak member. Thank you, Wifey! The non-member line was 16 people deep. The Fastbreak line? ZERO! Woohoo! To make it even better, Mary, the woman who helped me was borderline too kind. Things are clearly starting out in our favor.

We've got a GMC Yukon XL (call sign: Lil' Bird) for our trip. It's a bigger car than we need but the best option among few others. It's a good thing that we got it too because the bean bag (complete with 2x extra padding) is enormo. It nearly touches the ceiling/roof of the car. Jake job is to keep it down in the middle. We're going to have to do something about this.

We were happy to arrive at the Padre Hotel at about 10:30p. It's a beautiful hotel - probably too nice for a stay as short as ours - and boasts a lively club on the first floor. We were escorted past the line by the valet and quietly proceeded to our rooms to get a few hours sleep before we're off to Flagstaff tomorrow AM.

The day's mission is accomplished!

So Long, San Fran

The time has come for Ali, Jake, and I to bid adieu to California. When we arrived here in ’12 we knew that we wouldn’t be here forever and agreed to think of it as a multi-year getaway. We did much of what California had to offer and are ready to head east.

Believe it or not, the movers came and finished their part today. It’s hard to be comfortable in our home after all of our belongings have left (including the bed). Ali got a beanbag that converts into a double-bed-sized mattress. …Jake promptly claimed it as his own.

We had a lot of fun while we were here but are not real sad about leaving San Francisco. We are, however, very sad to say goodbye to colleagues, friends, and the folks who welcome Jake into their stores and shower him with treats and love.

I’m especially sad to say goodbye to Jeray, my “Little.” We’ve been through highs and lows and I can’t help but feel like I’m letting him down by leaving. Ali’s equally sad to say goodbye to her team at work. The contrasts between private practice and in-house counsel are truly stark. She’s thankful for those relationships she made here.

So, here we are. Finishing up in our apartments and offices. Preparing to pick up our chariot from SFO. Smiling fondly in the rear view mirror. And looking forward to the days, people, and miles ahead of us.

Watch out east coast, here we come! I’m bringing the California weather so make some room!

Skiing Northstar

I ski.  I have fun skiing. I am not a good skier. I am, however, getting more confident which means I’m slowly taking bigger risks. You can probably guess where this is going…

T’was on the Tahoe Zephyr Express where I overheard a bit of wisdom pass from one generation to the next. The father explained to son that stopping is the single most important skill in skiing. One can ski any trail, no matter the complexity, as long as they can apply the basic skill of stopping.

Shortly thereafter as I carved my way down the ridge line of Mount Pluto, I opted for the trail less taken: a.k.a Upper Drop Off. I got about half way down the trail when things started to get a little squirrelly and I knew I was going down. I’m not sure what other folks do or think when they find themselves in this sort of situation? I, on the other hand, started laughing and cursing aloud uncontrollably and simultaneously…all the way down. It was glorious. In between the spurts of laughter and curses I was quietly hoping that the spill was being caught on video (it wasn’t).

Fortunately, I was no worse for the wear (you didn’t think otherwise, did you?). I dusted myself off, caught up to my run-away ski a few yards down the hill, and finished a couple more runs. I had a lot of fun skiing Northstar this weekend and can cross ski California off of my CA bucket list.

Of course, the trip wasn’t all about the skiing. Ali and I hopped the gondola to the ski village to sample the establishments and even made our own candle. Although I’m not permitted to share the photo, my favorite picture of the whole weekend was Ali and a chainsaw carved creature looking thing. Priceless!

VB-Day Weekend 2014

I married a Valentine’s baby. Meaning that Wifey and I have two reasons to celebrate in the middle of February. We opted for a weekend getaway to Bodega Bay to ensure the occasion received it’s due.  Bodega Bay is a popular destination for city dwellers like us.  It’s only 1.5 hrs north of SF along the CA coast, promises awesome views of the Pacific, and plenty of quiet little things to do.

One of my favorite things was visiting the Potter Schoolhouse.  This was one of the film locations for “The Birds.” Here’s what it looked like in1963 and here’s what it looks like today.

On the East Coast, an ocean view means that you get spectacular sunrises (as long as you get out of bed before dawn).  On the West Coast, however, sunset is on the menu and we had front row seats to the show. I took some video of the sunset from our deck – don’t watch it for the sunset though…watch it for the last two seconds in the 30 second clip.  During the last two seconds of the video, Jake sees deer come into the yard and TAKES OFF.  While you won’t see the deer or Jake, you can hear Ali start to react. Fortunately, the recording ends before the dialogue hits R rated levels.

The deer outran Jake...this time.  We didn’t see the deer in our yard again.

Trans-San Francisco Run

I'm not a huge fan of running in the city.  Between the numerous sidewalk obstacles (er...pedestrians) and stop lights, much of the fun gets drained right out.  For those reasons my go-to run is a route down California Street, along the Embarcadero to the I-280 ramp, and back.  It's just over four miles and I like to run it 2 or 3 times per week.  It can be a crowded route but it has a relatively few number of traffic lights.  I do like a bit of variety though.  So, I decided to run across San Francisco!

The distance isn't bad (7 miles), but the hills are real downers.  Nob Hill is the steepest hill along the route but certainly not the highest.

I really enjoyed the run.  I started at the Ferry Building on the east side of the peninsula and finished at the Sutro Baths on the west side of the peninsula.  The Sutro Baths are nothing but ruins today, however, in 1896 they were a group of one fresh water and six salt water pools all enclosed by an awesome glass and steel structure.

Here's a nice little tip: if you're ever in the area, go enjoy breakfast and the view from Louis'.  I recommend the ham and Monterrey Jack omelet.

California Bucket List

Ali and I have moved around quite a bit.  It's a good thing we're adept at the process because there's another move on the horizon!  I received and accepted an offer from a DC based company that will bring us back to the East Coast and, more importantly, closer to our families.  I'm wildly excited about the opportunity and can't wait for my first day (next Monday).

With that in our minds, Ali and I have started to assemble our California Bucket List.  We've managed to see and do a lot of things in the last 1.5 years and there are still many big things to be done.  Truth be told, some of our bucket-list items are outside of CA but it's tough to pass-up the advantage of proximity.  Do you recognize any of these places?

Only time will tell whether we're able to visit all of these places but why not try!?  In the meantime, it's time to start planning the route (hello, Route 40)!

Oliver's Travels

I got a message from my buddy Owen a couple of weeks ago.  Owen's working on a geography project for school.  As part of their studies, the class read the Journey of Oliver K. Woodman.  What's really cool is that Owen built his own Oliver Woodman and sent him on assignment to San Francisco.  My mission is to show Oliver the sites and teach him a couple of things about American culture and diversity.

Oliver and I did A LOT of sight seeing over the weekend.  We did so much touring that we decided to make a quick chocolate-stop at Ghirardelli Square.

There are just a few more must-see places to show Oliver this weekend.  After that, I'll bid Oliver adieu and send him back home to Owen.