Posted on by John

To follow up on yesterday’s garage cleaning, Christine and I got up late this morning, and headed back out to the garage, after eating an early lunch.

We worked until 4:00, and we’re now able to say that we’ve gone through every box that was in the garage. We’ve gotten rid of a lot of stuff we just didn’t need anymore (like a box of MacWorld magazines that spanned from April 1998 to 2004). We’d saved so much crap over the past 8 years, that it was pretty funny going through all that stuff. We had a box of every receipt for everything we bought between May 1998 and December 2001. No idea why we saved that stuff. We had a box of a lot of old computer peripherals that I’d picked up over the years – The Salvation Army is now the proud owner of a USB 56K Modem, for example.

I hung our bicycles from the rafters in the garage, to get them out of the way. We packed away all of the Christmas decorations properly. We stored a lot of Barbies and art. I’ve started sorting out my tools and the like. The garage floor is now completely clear of any obstructions, save for a small pile of a few trash bags full of trash, that need to go out on Friday morning.

Most importantly, we found the box that came from our master bedroom at the Travis Heights house, that Christine had packed all of our valuables in. It was buried under about 10 other boxes, that we just hadn’t gotten around to unpacking. Felt good to find that box and put our hands on those things again.

The garage looks great, and after Friday, we’ll be able to pull a car into it (it’s not wide enough for 2 cars). So, I’m planning on washing the cars this coming weekend, and then parking the Volvo in the garage from here on out.

It feels really good to get something that felt like a huge job done, finally. (Only took us a year to get around to doing it).

Average Rating: 4.6 out of 5 based on 209 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

Christine and I spent the better part of the day cleaning out the garage today.

Around 9:00 a.m., I took a load of stuff we had ready for Goodwill to the donation center, then went to Home Depot and bought 8 storage bins, and some trash bags. When I got home, I started clearing out the garage a little. I got the lawn mower and fertilizer spreader out of the way, then moved our bikes outside, along with the ladder. I also started a small pile of boxes that we just didn’t need to keep anymore (anyone else have a few empty boxes that you think you’ll need someday? like a box to the last printer you bought, etc…)

Christine put Jack down for a nap and joined me in the garage. We started unpacking the boxes that we haven’t unpacked since our move from the rent house we lived in in Travis Heights. We found some fun old memories (lots of photos from Christine’s 8th grade and highschool, and from our days at A&M and in the Army). We found a bunch of old books that we didn’t need to store anymore really. We found two pairs of boots that we had no idea where they’d gone to. We divided what we found into piles: One for Goodwill, one for trash, one for eBay, and the stuff we kept, we repacked in the storage bins I’d bought that morning.

Around noon, we ate pizza on the back patio … which was funny … Christine freaked out over a bee that flew near her face and she ran inside. I got her to come back outside to finish eating after about 5 minutes of coaxing.

Then I started burning (in the chiminea) a bunch of old files we were hanging on to for no good reason (we still had my old Austin County State Bank statements and cancelled checks for God knows what reason, for example).

All said, we did a pretty good job of getting rid of a bunch of stuff we really didn’t need to keep anymore (like about 40 books that were just taking up space — stuff like our AAA tourguide books of Kentucky we have from 7 years ago — sheesh). I took a load of stuff to Goodwill (4 boxes). I took a load of stuff to Half-price books (made $21.50 there for 2 boxes of books – what a rip off). I took a file cabinet we didn’t need back to Office Depot (made $70 there).

So now, we have a garage that’s on its way to being better organized… and is definitely cleaned out a bit.

When I got home from getting rid of the stuff we were getting rid of, Christine and I packed the car full of cardboard, and I took it to the recycling place in downtown Austin.

After that trip out, I fertilized the lawn, just in time for it to rain, so I didn’t have to water it in.

Christine started making dinner (a wonderful Talapia dish with spaghetti squash and rice for sides). Bob Beurlein came down from Ft. Hood, and we all ate dinner together (including Jack).

Austin WranglersBob and I then headed to the Austin Wranglers game for the evening. We watched the Wranglers beat the New York Dragons. It was a fun game. Arena football is a good sport to watch, and to take a family to, I think. It’s kind of like watching regular football, but at a basketball pace.

Got a lot done today, and now we’re tired… it sure feels good to get things done.

Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 based on 163 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

Over the past week, we’ve spent a lot of time celebrating birthdays:

John turned 29 on March 10th. Yes, I’m still a year younger than my wife. She’s still wiser. I’m still younger. I’m 4 weeks into my Weight Watcher kick and so far I’ve lost 11.2 pounds. Feels good being a little lighter, I just hope the pounds are coming off the right parts of my body 😉 To celebrate, Josh cooked an amazing dinner, and we spent the evening at their house, playing with Jack and talking about stuff. Josh also gave me a really nice knife and some stuff we need in the kitchen so he can come over and cook at our house like he does at his (and so I can learn some culinary arts from him in the process).

Ella turned one year old on March 13th! And boy is she amazing at one year old. Shadel and Evan threw the little princess a wonderful birthday party in Bellville. Christine, Jack and I drove down on Saturday (the 12th) and spent an evening with them before the big event. Evan and his friend Jason got up around 5:30 to start cooking brisket. I got up around 7:00 to help them. Shadel and Christine decorated, and around noon, I guess, the birthday well-wishers started showing up. Lots of family and lots of friends. It was a lot of fun, and I shot about an hours worth of video, so Evan and Shadel can preserve the event.

During the week of March 14th, we just worked. Jack started learning how to sleep a little longer through the night. I started reading a book on how to get him to sleep through the entire night. I closed another deal at work, this one with a bigger client based in Chicago.

Then last night, March 18th, we met Cheri, Greg, Raymond and Debbie at the Iguana Grill on Lake Travis, to celebrate Cheri’s __th birthday (I’d never ask a lady her age). We went ahead and celebrated all of the March and April birthday’s last night too (Debbie’s birthday is April 5th). The food was great. The conversation was better. The sky was overcast, so the sunset wasn’t as good as it normally is over the lake.

Today, I’m hoping to either a) get the garage cleaned out, or b) get the yard in shape. Depends on how much time I have.

Jack’s sitting in front of me playing right now, so I’m gonna get off this darned computer and go spend some time with him. He’s so much fun!

Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 based on 247 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

Josh sent this to me… it’s a neat use data from Amazon to write out my name:

Engler in Books

John Engler in Books

Click on an individual book to learn more about why it’s in the books that get into the image. Click the logo at the bottom to generate your own.

Average Rating: 4.9 out of 5 based on 250 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

Grandma sent me this email this morning from AsAManThinketh:

What Matters In Life
Author Unknown

Some people understand life better

And they call some of these people “retarded”…

At the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically or mentally disabled, assembled at the starting line for the 100-yard dash.

At the gun, they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with a relish to run the race to the finish and win.

All, that is, except one little boy who stumbled on the asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times, and began to cry. The other eight heard the boy cry.

They slowed down and looked back. Then they all turned around and went back every one of them. One girl with Down’s Syndrome bent down and kissed him and said, “This will make it better.”

Then all nine linked arms and walked together to the finish line.

Everyone in the stadium stood, the cheering went on for several minutes.

People who were there are still telling the story… Why? Because deep down we know this one thing: What matters in this life is more than winning for ourselves.

What matters in this life is helping others win, even if it means slowing down and changing our course.

Great story Mom, thanks for sharing.

Average Rating: 4.9 out of 5 based on 196 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

Tonight, Christine and I fed Jack his first meal from a spoon.

Over the last week or so, Christine has noticed that Jack smacks his lips when she’s eating. Supposedly that is one of the signs that your child is ready to eat real food.

We’ve read that your supposed to start feeding your kid real food when they’re 4 months old. Jack’s almost there, so, we figured we’d try feeding him some rice cereal tonight.

So, here’s the movie of Jack eating his first meal from a spoon. The movie is about 10 minutes long (and is 55MB in size), because I just couldn’t bear to edit too much of it … it’s precious to us, and we hope you enjoy watching him eat, and hearing us discuss the process. So, without further ado:

Jack Eating
Jack Eating

After feeding Jack that little bit of rice cereal, Christine fed him some of the good stuff. Erin showed up shortly after we fed him, and Christine and I headed off to Weight Watchers. Erin fed Jack a formula bottle while we were gone, and when we got home, he was sleeping. We fed him another bottle right before bed time, and here’s hoping he sleeps through the night.

Oh, and I’ve lost 8 pounds in 3 weeks, thanks to Weight Watchers.

Average Rating: 4.7 out of 5 based on 173 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

This movie comes to us from the backlog of videos and photos I have on my hard drive:

Terrified Boy
Two Crazy Girls and a Terrified Boy

heh…

Average Rating: 4.9 out of 5 based on 232 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

Christine, Jack and I boarded a Southwest flight headed for Oklahoma City last Friday in the morning. We checked our baggage at the curb, then I parked the car, and met Christine and Jack inside the terminal. We were all ready for Jack’s first airplane ride.

Jack did really well on the plane on the way up to Oklahoma. We fed him on ascent and descent, or let him suck on his pacifier, and he was only fussy on the descent into Oklahoma City (we had to land in Dallas on the way from Austin to OKC). Not bad for his first flight. The flight attendants were quite taken with him too.

In Oklahoma City, we rented a car from Avis, and headed to Grandmother’s house (Grandmother is Christine’s Mom’s Mom – Gulah Daron) for lunch. It was nice to see Grandmother on Friday, only our visit was too short. We drove to Tulsa in the rental car after lunch.

We arrived at Uncle Ben and Aunt Gayle’s house (Gayle is Christine’s Dad’s younger sister) around 4:30 in the afternoon, and visited with them until Dinner. For dinner, Gayle hosted a dinner party that included Christine, Jack and I, Mary (Christine’s Dad’s youngest sister), Elizabeth (Mary’s daughter and Christine’s cousin) and her boyfriend Mark, Keith (Elizabeth’s Dad and Christine’s uncle) and Oma (Christine’s Dad’s mom — Jack’s other Great Grandmother).

Gayle served a Cream of Aspaaragus soup, a salad, and a shrimp dish as the main course. All of the dishes were very good. The conversations centered around what Elizabeth was doing as she finished up her schooling at university, and how Christopher (Keith and Mary’s other child) is going to law school later this year. We also talked about how little Benjamin, Gayle and Ben’s grandson, is learning to wear hats a lot, as he gets bigger… We discussed living in Austin and being an Aggie, and how Mark is doing in the police academy there in Tulsa.

After dinner, Oma and Jack got aquainted quite a bit. Jack was having a good ol’ time trying to figure out what Oma was saying in German (she pretty much only speaks German most of the time), while the rest of us were also trying to figure it out. Jack laughed and giggled as Oma tickled him. He enjoyed meeting her and the rest of the family very much.

We spent the night at Ben and Gayle’s – I slept a full 12 hours (I have some sort of flu… sucks) while Christine got up a few times during the night to take care of Jack.

On Saturday morning, we got up, enjoyed breakfast and lunch with Gayle and Ben, as well as just playing with Jack. Gayle was really helpful and loved just holding Jack while Christine and I ate together (those moments are rare). We packed the car, and headed back to Oklahoma City around 2:00 in the afternoon after a too short trip to Tulsa.

Back in Oklahoma City, the family had gathered at Grandmother’s house to start celebrating Grandmother’s 93rd birthday party. Let me spell that out for you folks. Ninety Three. That’s right: NINETY THREE. Wow. Just imagine all the stuff that’s happened since 1912 folks. Grandmother has seen it all… literally.

The family for this trip consisted of Roy and Carol (Christine’s Mom’s oldest sister), Mary (Christine’s mom) and Charles, Shannin and Shaina (Charles is Mary’s nephew and Grandmother’s grandson. Shannin is his wife, and Shaina is their 5 month old daughter – Jack’s 2nd cousin). We all met up at Grandmother’s around 5:00 for dinner and to catch up with each other, since the last time we’d been together. Everyone seems to be doing well, and we all agree that we don’t get to see each other often enough.

Shaina is adorable, and is growing by leaps and bounds. She has got to have the longest eyelashes I’ve seen on a 5-month old ever. Carol and Roy have new grandchildren, and Grandmother really enjoyed seeing Shaina and Jack together. We ate pizza for dinner and I turned in early (getting over that flu still).

We attended church at First Baptist Church in downtown Oklahoma City with Grandmother and family. It was a wonderful service, with the Oklahoma Baptist Univeristy’s Bison Glee Club sitting in for the choir. The pastor recognized Grandmother and had some wonderful words to share with the congregation about her, as did all of the members of the church that we met. It’s easy to know that Grandmother is dearly loved by her church family there in Oklahoma City.

After church, we went to lunch at Abuelo’s, and then headed back to the house to pack. We said our goodbye’s and headed to the airport. Christine, Jack and I barely made it to the airport in time for our flight, only to find it delayed by 30 minutes.

We boarded the flight and then got the Dallas just in time to catch our connecting flight to Austin. Jack did really well on both flights, finally falling asleep right before we started descending into Austin.

When we got to the car, we started searching for our car keys — only to call Gayle and discover that I’d left the car keys inside my jacket that I wore to Tulsa… And that jacket is still in Tulsa. Stupid, Stupid, Stupid. Gosh!

So, we took a cab home.

We had a great trip to Oklahoma City and really enjoyed spending time with our family… its too bad the trip was so short.

Average Rating: 4.6 out of 5 based on 171 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

Wow. Wow. Wow.

Marc Swendner is a god. Ok, maybe not a god, but a demi-god, for sure.

I say that because his photography is amazing.

Marc came over last Friday with his two assistants and his lighting equipment and took photos for Christine and I. I’ve posted a few of them here, just so you can get an idea of what I’m talking about:

Flying Jack by Marc Swendner

On top of taking great photos, Marc is great on the service end of things too. He had proofs of our photos to us very quickly, and was able to get us a few of the best photos within a day or two, so we could use them at Jack’s baptism reception (the fact that I forgot to take them to said baptism should be ignored for a moment).

Marc is a great photographer, and I’m lucky to be able to call him my friend.

If you are looking for a photographer for any occasion, or for portraits or other shots, shoot him and email or call him. His contact information is on his website.

Average Rating: 4.8 out of 5 based on 207 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

Finally got around to cataloging a few more photos we’ve taken, and thus, I posted these galleries today:

Peggy Visits
Taking a bath
Standing in the crib
The Dog and his Jack
Jack up close and personal

Average Rating: 4.9 out of 5 based on 165 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

Today, Jack turned 3 months old.

He’s such a little man now, folks.

He gets up every morning with a smile on his face around 6 a.m. to eat breakfast (definitely doesn’t take after his Dad there) and plays with Mommy until 7 or 8 a.m. Then Mommy wakes up Daddy so Daddy can go to work. Jack gets a kiss from Daddy, and if he’s awake, he sends Daddy off to work with a big smile.

Then he usually naps from around 9 a.m. until noon or so, and wakes up with a voracious appetite. After his noon meal, Mommy and Jack head off to the nursery to play. Jack plays with all sorts of things now: He bats at his floor gym toys that hang over head, rattles his rattles (and tries to eat some of them). He loves his butterfly toy that makes all sorts of noises and has many different places he can hold onto it.

Somedays Mommy and Jack do baby aerobics, which Jack just absolutely loves. That always gets a giggle out of him. (Baby aerobics is basically Mommy bouncing around the room with Jack in her arms to the tune of Jack’s playtime music CD.) Daddy joins them during playtime whenever his schedule permits… though that’s not often enough, and never long enough.

After playtime, Jack eats a hearty afternoon meal before taking a short nap, usually with Mommy on the couch.

As the workday comes to a close, Jack sits in his bouncy seat and watches his Baby Einstein DVDs for a few minutes while Mom figures out what’s for dinner. Dad usually emerges from his office around this time, and plays with Jack until dinner is ready, or, if Mommy’s real lucky, Dad cooks dinner sometimes too.

At dinner time we all sit down for a family meal. Dad at the head of the table, Mommy at his side, and Jack on the table in his bouncy seat. Discussions at dinner range from what Jack did that day, to how our families and friends are doing, to what we’re doing that weekend or next. Sometimes Jack is in a fun mood at dinner, sometimes he’s not.

After dinner, Dad usually spends time with Jack while Mommy gets caught up on things she needs to get done. Jack does a lot of standing and jumping whenever he’s with Daddy. You should see how excited he gets to see the baby that comes to visit him in his mirror. It’s a hoot.

Around 7 p.m. or so, Jack’s day is beginning to wind down, and he is usually ready for a nap. Sometimes he takes his evening nap in his crib, and sometimes he takes it in his swingy seat. Mommy and Daddy try to watch a little TV during this nap, and relax a little.

Man it's been a long day
Man it’s been a long day

Anywhere from 9 – 11, Jack starts to wake up for his nightcap. He eats his last meal of the day, while barely awake, and then heads off to his crib to sleep. He’ll usually make it to about 3 a.m., before waking Mommy up for his early morning meal (gotta teach him where the fridge is someday).

During that 3 a.m. meal, Jack usually looks up at Mommy and smiles real big, and Mommy tries not to laugh at Jack, because he’s the one that got them both up, but she just can’t help it. They laugh at each other for a while, and then he finishes eating before Mommy puts him back to bed for the rest of the night.

And then we do it all over again.

Man how time flies.

Average Rating: 5 out of 5 based on 265 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

It was a long week last week… sorry for the lack of updates. So let’s start where we left off.

On Monday night, Valentine’s Day, Elise and Josh came over and babysat Jack for us, so Christine and I could go out for Valentine’s day. We decided to do something low-key, but fun, so we went to the Alamo Drafthouse and watched “Hitch” while eating dinner and having a couple of beers.

Hitch is a hilarious movie, especially for two middle-aged parents that don’t get to see movies in the theatre any more. Actually, it’s a good movie for anyone. Will Smith is great in it. We laughed pretty much all the way through it.

Also on Monday, Christine met with her boss and told him that she was more interested in raising our son for the next six months to a year than she was in coming straight back to work. He was totally understanding, and asked her if she’d mind staying on the employment rolls, and helping out here and there with reviewing reports and the like. She said that she’d be happy to help out when her time permitted. I’m so thankful she works for a company that can afford to be understanding of her wants and needs and can accomodate her for the short-term, with their long-term interests being protected as well. She’s an asset to any company, and I’m glad they know that too.

Let’s see… then the week flew by. I don’t really remember us doing anything spectacular last week. Oh, I closed my first couple of sales at the office. Felt good to finally do that.

On Thursday, Christine and I joined Weight Watchers. I’m tired of not being able to button the neck on my dress shirts when I wear a tie. And I can’t afford to keep buying new suits and new shirts. Enough said. Erin babysat Jack while we were there… Jack told me he had a great time hanging out with Erin after she left.

Then, the weekend came. And I was lucky enough to have President’s day off.

Christine saddled me with the kiddo for a few hours each day, so she could get out and get some things accomplished, and we did a little visiting with friends as well.

On Sunday we met with Pastor John at the church about Jack’s baptism, and Elise and Josh joined us. Afterwards, Josh and I hung out with Jack while the girls went shopping, or something. Then Sunday night, we joined Lisa and Spencer (Lisa is Christine’s cousing from Tulsa who now lives in Austin) for dinner and conversation. Lisa cooked an amazing roast and ice-cream pie. I mean an amazing roast! Spencer’s doing well in his MBA program. Wish we got to hang out with them more often…

On Monday, Elise and Christine drove all over town getting things finalized for the baptism coming up this weekend… Jack and I stayed home and drank beer and smoked cigars. Ok, that last part isn’t true, but I’ve got to make sure you’re still reading.

And I forgot: On Sunday afternoon, Christine and I were playing with Jack in his nursery, and he started laughing while we were playing “Flying Jack” so Christine shot the footage in this quick video … He’s too funny here:

Believe it or not, I’m walking on air…

Average Rating: 4.8 out of 5 based on 298 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

We had a great weekend folks. Peggy came to visit, and she really helped Christine and I relax on Saturday night, so we could enjoy ourselves at dinner at Hudson’s on the Bend. Dinner was truly amazing. Amazing. After dinner, we stopped by Debbie and Raymond’s lakehouse to visit with them and Uncle Roland and Aunt Barbara, and to see the new bathroom.

This morning, Christine and I got up and went to church, and then afterwards, we took Peggy and Jack to lunch at Serrano’s on the river downtown. Before lunch, while Peggy and Christine were playing with Jack, I happened to grab the camera and take a quick movie. It’s too cute:

A Laughing Movie starring Jack, Christine and Peggy

Jack’s starting to learn how to laugh folks!

Oh, and thanks again for coming to babysit for us Aunt Peggy.

Average Rating: 4.6 out of 5 based on 174 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

This weekend is gonna be great.

First, our Aunt Peggy (my mom’s younger sister) is coming up to Austin for the weekend. She’s offered to “baby sit” for Christine and I tonight, so we can have a good Valentine’s Day dinner. We have reservations at Hudson’s on the Bend, which is where Christine and I had our first nice dinner in Austin two years ago.

We’ll probably start dinner tonight with the Diamond Back Rattlesnake Cakes or their Giant Rabbit Ravioli. We’ve had the Rattlesnake cakes before, and they’re fantastic. I think for salad I’ll have the  Ruby Red Grapefruit and Avocado Salad while Christine might have the Candied Pecan Crusted Goat Cheese atop Mixed Field Greens. For the actual meal, I’m thinking of having Venison Osso Buco, Chorizo stuffed Pork Tenderloin, or the Rack of Venison. I might talk Christine into eating the Cascabel & Espresso rubbed Smoked Elk Backstrap, or the Pecan Smoked Duck Breast.

My mouth is watering this morning, just thinking of dinner tonight.

On Sunday, we’re planning on spending time running a few errands and spending time catching up with Aunt Peggy.

Then, on Monday, Christine is having lunch with her boss to talk about future employment options, and that night, we’re thinking of going out to a movie, as Josh and Elise have graciously offered to babysit Jack for us on Monday night.

Valentine's Day Coupon

What a treat. Two nights out in one “weekend”.

Like I said: We’re looking forward to this weekend.

Average Rating: 4.7 out of 5 based on 166 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

Guess what folks. There’s a whole new world at 7:00 am on a Saturday morning that I didn’t know about, or at least didn’t remember.

Who knew the sun got up early on Saturday mornings too?

And who knew that the big three networks had news shows at 7 am? Cartoons aren’t on ABC, CBS, or NBS until 9 o’clock in the morning? Time to watch the WB I guess. Or maybe HGTV?

Jack just wants to be up with me. He doesn’t care what I watch.

Average Rating: 4.8 out of 5 based on 277 user reviews.

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