Add 3 Sizes to your Email

I'm tired of spam. I go all weekend without checking my email. Mainly because I'm really busy doing other things... and I tend to not want to sit in front of the computer when I'm not getting paid for it, or working on a real hobby - or doing something nice for someone. But I'm bored this evening so I thought I'd try and see if anyone has connected to me. An lo and behold two women have contacted me that they would love to see me with a larger piece of my anatomy. And here I am trying to make my stomach smaller. (16lbs so far for anyone watching).

I'm mad at my email client for not filtering these emails. I'm disappointed because most of the email I recieve at home lately has been from bookstores that I've purchased books from or forwarded messages of chain letters...I would love to be able to sit down with one of my friends, or a new friend and just write letters back and forth, describing my day, the frustrations of life and the humor of which I seem to have to hold up to it.


I'm going to have to see the doctor again. The blood pressure meds aren't seeming to help. I've been religiously taking the BP meds, the blood sugar, 1g of cinnamon and a multi-vitamin everyday. The last couple of nights where I've been really tired, I've laid down and could hear my pulse in my ears. I've always been able to do that at night especially - even as a child. But it is combined with fatigue -I know it's got to be elevated pressure.

The weight loss, like anything, has had its ups and downs. I've started having complements that people have noticed that the weight has reduced in my face. I'm still having a difficult time seeing it.

I was asked a difficult question at church today. I was asked where I was going for vacation this year. I had to really think about it. I haven't been on a vacation that hadn't involved seeing family in over ten years. Since my honeymoon actually. Now we've gone to some really nice places - Ruidoso, NM - Burnet, TX - San Francisco, CA - Galveston, TX - and all over South Carolina, but since we've been married, we've never just taken a week off to go somewhere just us.

The first 7 years of marriage have been mostly taken up with working for the City of Denton. Going on vacation was really difficult while I was working there. We were constantly berated with yet another set of public meetings in writing the Comprehensive Plan and the Development Code. All in all we held approximately 250 individual meetings getting those projects done. Any time away from Denton had to (rightly) be spent visiting family for the holidays. We saved a lot of money that way and when I finally left Denton, I had 300+ hours of vacation built up.

I haven't been back to Europe since 1994. I haven't gone to Boston to watch the Red Sox with my friend Bruce. I haven't driven up the Mississippi River from St. Louis to Minneapolis like I wanted. I haven't gone sailing in Auckland Bay on the North Island of New Zealand. I'm always committed to meetings and schedules months in advance.

I'm not about to say "poor me" who doesn't get a holiday. The reason mainly is that it would be crass and wrong to say that it is anything other than my own fault. But to stretch a metaphor a bit, my sail has been full with job, volunteerism, babies, moving, caring about politics, the environment, for so long now that the rudder has been tied off. The heading is set and the halyard has been locked in.

I need an anchor


or the keel is going to wear away...

Nice Kids

Don't you wish that you could live your life as simply as children do? Things are good and bad. We pick up our toys when we're done. Nobody bothers us if we need to take a nap. Snacks are ok...and sometimes, just holding hands and being friendly is a great thing. Alexander and his friend Kendall are watching other kids hit a pinata at Alexander's friend Eddie's 3rd birthday party this weekend. They just waited patiently for their turn. Holding hands.

Hey Man, Like Wow... (Edited)

This post has been removed because the other Stephen Cook was insecure enough in his own business that he had his sibling post to the blog to remove a photo (taken from a public street). I didn't make any judgements or comments other than the fact we had the same name which I thought was funny.

Some people have much more problems than I do...

Update: It also turns out that if you type in Stephen Cook - and his title on the outside of his store...which I won't write here to avoid any further yopping...it turns up that this post had made it to the second in Google searches. I'm still laughing about that. No wonder he was mad. More people must have clicked on my link.

Ford's Baptism

We had a lovely weekend with Meredith's parents, sister's family, two cousin's families, my parents, sister, godparents to Alex and Ford and friends celebrating Ford's baptism. The outfit he is wearing was originally bought in Vietnam by my mother's parents for the baptism of my mother's younger sister Louisa. I and my siblings wore it at our baptism as well as Alexander to his.

It was special having so many people there. We are truly blessed with friends and family. Our love goes to Kathy and Gary Griffin, Ford's Godparents. They gave Ford a child's book of prayers and one of bible stories. It was a successful weekend.