A Long Overdue Saturday Morning Update
Well, it has most definitely been awhile since I have actually taken the time to sit down and write a blog post. Sure, you’ve been overwhelmed by insightful twitters, but I guess it’s time to spill the guts in an actual blog post. So, in no particular order, here it goes….
* My grandfather (mom’s dad) has taken a few spills, of late. Alzheimer’s Disease is apparently progressing pretty rapidly of late. Sad to think about how the mind can go. Definitely wish they could come up with a solution for this horrible disease. It’s one thing what it does to the person with it… it’s a whole different thing for those who love the person and those who have to take care of him. I am excited for Christmas when I will get to see grandpa again. I’m sure it will be hard to see him digressing first hand, but I can’t wait to see him anyway. I am so thankful that lil Brae was able to meet grandpa while he was still pretty well with it. It’s sad to know that she will never know him as the wonderful grandpa I know him as. If you haven’t seen them before, I have some really good pictures of Braelyn and grandpa somewhere in my gallery — I think it’s under the Places > Casper section. Grandpa definitely enjoyed meeting her.
* Haven’t heard much about how my grandma (dad’s mom) is doing. I spoke to her right before I went to Maui. I need to call her again. I know she loves catching up. She is over 90 years old and still chugging along. She has arthritis pretty bad (has as long as I can remember) and it really took a toll on her this past year. But, no news is good news (or so I hope) so I presume she is still doing much better. I hate that I “think” I am so busy that I don’t take enough time to keep in better touch with her. She, like grandpa, is a wonderful person. I am so lucky to have a wonderful family.
* Speaking of family… this year we are spending Thanksgiving with Rebecca’s family and we head to Casper for Christmas. Always nice to spend time with both sides. I must admit, I am a bit apprehensive over Thanksgiving this year. Rebecca estimated some 40+ family members there, in some little town or area I’ve never heard of or been to before. I’m all for family but this sounds like a madhouse! Just kidding. My other big fear is that we’re having fried turkey. I have never had fried turkey before. Now, everyone who has tells me it is awesome and really good. But those who know me know that I am a pretty safe, picky eater. And, Thanksgiving dinner is my favorite dinner of the year. So, I find it risky that my turkey is in jeopardy of not something I will like. Oh well, as I told Rebecca, we’ll be stopping at Boston Market on the way back if I don’t like it! Good news is I probably will like the fried turkey. It’s just an unknown for me right now.
* Braelyn is growing up so fast. She is close to walking, close to standing… and she likes to get into everything. It is really fun (for me) to watch her doing the “naughty” things where Rebecca will yell “No, Braelyn…” only to be followed by a much louder and more stern “BRAELYN GRACE, I SAID NO”. This is often followed by a little slap of the hand, a heartbreaking look on Braelyn’s face, then Braelyn going right back to doing it again! It is fun to watch. Rebecca tells me I need to smack her hand. Um, no thanks. I’m gonna be the COOL DAD! My little Princess does no wrong. Some new pictures of her are uploading as I type.
* So, in case you didn’t get the alert last week, my house got toilet-papered pretty good. I thought we were good at TP’ing as a kid…. boy, was I mistaken. Apparently TP’ing has evolved, too. It now comes accompanied with thousands of rubber bands dropped on your sidewalk, driveway, in your lawn, and strapped around your door handles so you can’t open it when you get “Ding Dong Ditched” — those are the words Spencer calls it. I have some pictures of the TP job being uploaded right now in the gallery under Pictures of the House. Check them out… I know Spencer plans on retaliating. I will pretend to know nothing 
* We had a little scare this past week with Rebecca. She started having some issues that lead her to believe that she was pregnant and miscarrying. Fortunately, tests by her doctor said that wasn’t the case. It was a pretty scary thought, I can tell you that. I know my good friend Shawn and his wife lost a baby earlier this year… I just can’t imagine. Rebecca is doing much better now, thankfully.
* Work is different than it used to be. Gabe stepped down a few months back as the CEO of Aplus.net. He served a brief stint as our CSO (Chief Strategy Officer), but that didn’t last long. He decided to devote his time to other projects and moved on at the end of last month. Our new CEO is a good guy and I enjoy working with him, but I would be lying if I said things were the same. Oh well, I am surrounded by a bunch of friends and good people at Aplus.net and do, for the most part, enjoy my job.
* I’ve watched with great interest the news post-election. I find it humorous a lot of the appointments that Obama is making. His really strong words about bipartisanship and no lobbyists being allowed in his white house have softened since election. The “new government” with all this change doesn’t really look like it’s going to be taking on much of a “new” look. His first priority (a lot of first priorities were mentioned in the campaign) of getting Gitmo shut down doesn’t look like that’s going to be quite as easy as he “thought” it would be. Caution is being thrown around now by the liberal media about how there are just too many questions as to what to do with the people at Gitmo. Really? Hmmm, sounds like a familiar problem. I do also go back to a much earlier blog post I made about all these people publicly lashing out at the treatment of these prisoners… we all want these people detained, and whatever tactics need to be used to keep us safe and get information should be used. Some are just afraid to say it. I am reminded of Jack Nicholson’s words “You want me on that wall, you need me on that wall” — how true. But, only when the cameras aren’t rolling, right? I suspect the only nutjobs in the US who really do care are the ACLU. Ah, let’s move on….
* Guitar Hero is fun. Spencer wants to get the drums, mic, etc. to add on. I think we probably will. But I do need to be reminded that I need to practice my real guitar. If I would spend the same amount of time on it as I do on Guitar Hero of late, I could probably be a Tim Reynolds in no time. Heh, probably not. Sounded good, though.
Well, I guess that’s good enough for now. Hope all out there are doing well. I’ll catch up more frequently (hope that’s not an empty promise). Until then, catch ya on Twitter and Facebook. Facebook has been nice on reconnecting with friends from the past, which is something I said I really wanted to do this year, especially after learning of Angie Noonan’s untimely death. I do consider my goal to be successful. While a lot of my age crowd isn’t on Facebook, more and more are joining every week. It’s awesome to read about what is going on with them. I think I will make an effort to make my 20th reunion, which is less than 2 years away. Holy cow.
Oh, and one last thing… I can’t end a blog without at least once mentioning by Big Dawg Hoover. He is a bit stinky right now, but I love that dog dearly. He is so fun (and lazy). Today was a day to have our sheets cleaned. Hoover loves those days, cuz he gets to get up on the bed and sleep in with me. Damn dog takes up more of the bed than Rebecca does. Luckily I am trained to only need one point five feet wide section of bed… since that’s all the wife allows me to have. Haven’t ever figured out why we have a huge bed.
Peace,
–Relledge
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Comments
Good to see a blog from you again. Enjoy them. I need to talk to your mother and the Pug sisters - I only get the 1 foot! I’m envious of your extra .5!
The Dad
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