T3: Tate's 3rd Birthday Video

It's probably bad form to follow a post about how I've recommitted myself to my blog (so that my second child wouldn't feel neglected) with another post of a video solely dedicated to my first child.

But therein lies Real World Lesson #1 for Child #2 . . . Life ain't fair. Accept it and move on!

Having said that, let's move on to T3 - Tate's 3rd Birthday Video.

Happy Birthday, Buddy Boy! You'll never know how proud I am of you!

10 Years

Our 10th wedding anniversary was last week. I figured this was the best way to package all those memories into one post.

Love you Babe!

33 Birthday Wishes

Well, another year – another birthday. Today, I turn 33.

To me, there’s not much excitement in turning 33. It’s not a milestone year. It’s not even a prime number. But it’s a birthday none the less.

So in honor of my achieving yet one more year sans death, here are my 33 random birthday wishes:

1. I wish I could hit a golf ball 275 yards straight down the fairway instead of 275 yards straight to the right - if I could, I might actually play golf.

2. I wish I was about 15 pounds lighter so I could ride my bike 5 mph faster.

3. I wish I could moderate my consumption of Dr. Pepper (sweet nectar of life!) so that I wouldn’t have to avoid it altogether.

4. I wish Blue Bell Ice Cream and Magic Shell had calories and fat grams that “don’t really count.”

5. I wish Jerry Jones would hire me to be one of his sons – oh the fun I would have in that family business!


6. I wish God used neon signs floating in the sky to tell me what he wants me to do.

7. I wish God would pull back the curtain, if only for a second, so that we could have a glimpse of Heaven.

8. I wish I could be as bold as God wants me to be.

9. I wish small, convertible (and fast!) sports cars were practical (and affordable!) automobiles for young families.


10. I wish I had kept playing the piano.

11. I wish could get more sleep.

12. I wish I could function longer with less sleep.

13. I wish Macy could wipe her feet before coming inside.


14. I also wish she could change Tate’s diapers.

15. I wish I had the ability to preview everything I say to Kelly before I say it to make sure my words and tone reflect the love I have for her.

16. I wish I could “TiVo” my radio.

17. I wish I could “TiVo” my job – that way I can press pause and come back to it whenever I want.

18. I wish my cooking tasted just like restaurant food.

19. I wish restaurant food wasn’t so dang expensive.

20. I wish I could make homemade ice cream like my grandmother.

21. I wish I knew how to fix cars.

22. I wish the Texas Ranger wouldn’t trade away every decent pitching prospect they have in the Minors.

23. I wish Jessica Simpson would stay away from Tony Romo (Dallas Cowboy Quarterback) during football season.

24. I wish the Dallas Mavericks would have just gotten it done 2 years ago when they were only 2 wins away from the championship.

25. I wish the Dallas Stars could find a goalie who could be Detroit.

26. I wish FC Dallas and the Dallas Desperados well.

27. I wish we could skip the next two and a half months of the presidential campaign and elect someone now so we can get on with our lives.

28. I wish Mac’s weren’t so dang expensive.

29. I wish someone would buy me a ski boat – because those things are expensive, too!

30. I wish Dallas/Fort Worth had more bike lanes like Roseville, CA.


31. I wish Dallas/Fort Worth was closer to the beach.

32. But at the same time, I wish Dallas/Fort Worth was closer to snow skiing in Colorado.

33. I wish the Germans would come over here and build us an autobahn – I’d love to see what my Ford Escape could do with no speed limits.

Birthday Cobbler

I have a great job that comes with great perks.

To name a few: I work from home. I have an unlimited supply of promotional gel pens. Most of my lunches are paid for. And my boss lives and works in another state!

(Hi, Brian!)

But there are some drawbacks as well: I have to deal with traffic all day long. I’m supposed to wear a tie even when it’s a hundred flippin’ degrees outside. Many of my customers don’t want to see me – another story for another time. But worst of all, because I don’t work in an office with co-workers, I have never had an office party on my birthday.

(Everybody say, “Awwwww!”)

The worst thing about birthdays as a drug rep is that most people I interact with through work don’t know it’s my birthday - and in some cases, don't even care. And I’m not so much of a dork that I would go around telling everyone it’s my birthday just so that I can get an obligatory, half-felt “Happy Birthday” greeting.

But this year is already different.

I had lunch yesterday with my #1 customer – Complete Sleep in Fort Worth.

Over the past 4 years, I’ve gotten to know the folks at Dr. Eden’s office pretty well – though Nancy and I have known each other for longer.

But to my complete surprise, I showed up for lunch yesterday and found a huge pan of birthday apple cobbler waiting for me!! I had mentioned in passing to Nancy that my favorite dessert was apple cobbler and she somehow figured out that Monday is my birthday.

So, for the first time in the history of ever, I had an office party for my birthday! But not one thrown by my co-workers, but rather by my customers!

Pretty stinkin’ cool, huh?

The best part of it all was that there was half a pan left over for me to take home – just enough to get me through the weekend!


To everyone at Complete Sleep – it was totally unnecessary, but more than appreciated! Thank you so much!

9 Years!

I’m sure some of you are wondering if I had forgotten an event a far more important than my own blogaversary . . .

NO!

I was just waiting to blog about our 9th wedding anniversary until after I had a chance to scan some pictures for your viewing enjoyment. But since that’s probably not going to happen any time soon, let me commemorate the occasion by instead using a picture of Kelly and I on Easter weekend 2006 – Kelly was pregnant with Tate at the time.

Kelly mentioned on her blog that we went out to celebrate our anniversary. For the evening's entertainment, she came up with the great idea of re-reading some old letters I had written her while we were dating at ACU 12 years ago.

5 words: Stinkin’ hilarious and unbelievably embarrassing!

So, for your reading enjoyment, I’ll share the letter that makes me cringe the least. I’ve copied the letter below word-for-word as I wrote it. The text in blue is my “Director’s Commentary”
_______________________________________________

“Hey You! (I had her at ‘Hey You!’)

How ya’ doing?

When I asked you last night if you would be in Chapel, I had forgotten that I had to go to a panel and answer a bunch of questions about University Seminar. (Apparently my habit of forgetting important things has been a life-long affliction!) But I was bummed about not being able to see you @ Chapel.

Speaking of Chapel, guess who rocks my world! (Hmm . . . I would have assumed it would have been Kelly.) Rita in Chapel Services! (A then-40-something-year old woman who worked in Administration)

I went in today to check up on my Chapel absentences.

(Absentences?? Holy cow! How in the world did I graduate from high school let alone college with that kind of spelling? Absences!)

Kelly, I had 10! (We were only allowed 15 absences from Chapel per semester) Man! I’m glad I went in because Rita changed it to 6!

(I wrote this note during the phase of dating when you’re trying really hard to impress the other person – so why am I telling Kelly about my apparent problem with attending Chapel?)

Go! Rita! Go! (Yeah, that’s probably where I lost Kelly!)

Anyways, o yeah! (Awkward transition statement!) I was in the Bookstore this morning and I saw these new Starburst Twizzler thingies! (I still say ‘thingies’ but probably won’t anymore after reading this letter) I know that you love those Starburst Jelly Beans (Me, too!) So I bought these for ya’!

(And that’s how I reeled Kelly back in – buying her the good stuff!)

Try ‘em and tell me what you think!

(There’s a big arrow I drew at the bottom of the page directing Kelly to turn it over as if she didn’t already know there was still more to this never-ending, meandering piece of Shakespearean love poetry!)

Well I hope you have a great day! (‘great’ is underlined for emphasis!) I’ll be home most of the afternoon and all the evening (because I had no life outside Kelly) so give me a call . . . PLEASE!! (Easy! You’re starting to sound desperate!)

Actually, I’d like to see you if I can. (OK, now you’re freaking her out!) If you got some time today (because I sure do!), swing by or give me a call and I’ll come over!

(Will someone please hit me the next time I sound this pathetic?!?!?)

OBKB? (Yet another phrase I say that comes across way better in person than on paper)

All right, keep smiling! (Another awkward transition statement and confusing half sentence.)

Enjoy your Starburst Twizzler thingies!

-W

(Finally, it's over!)
_______________________________________________

I know what you're thinking, “What was Kelly thinking?”

Regardless of what she thought, I’m glad she thought enough to say “Yes!”

Love you, Babe! I’m looking forward to our next 9 years!

Happy Birthday, Babe!

The first, and most important, thing I'll share about our cruise last week is that a certain special love of my life had a birthday while we were gone!

Happy Birthday, Babe!

I'll let Kelly give the details of how we celebrated. For now, here is another list of 10 things I love about my wife . . . in addition to the list of 20 and the list of 12 I've done previously!

1. I've said this before, but if it weren't for her mad planning and organization skills, I'd never go on cool trips like the cruise we just went on.

2. I loved how Kelly did her hair in the picture above - she looked freakin' hot that night!

3. I love to watch Kelly play with Tate - it brings out the little girl in her!

4. Speaking of which, I don't know what I would do without Kelly's guidance and direction with Tate. She gave up her career and fully committed herself to our child. And because of that, both Tate and I are far better off!

5. At the moment, my favorite meal she cooks is her world famous brisket for BBQ sandwiches - she even makes her own homemade BBQ sauce!

6. This may sound weird but I love it when we laugh at the same parts of a TV show or movie - it just makes it that much funnier to me. Half of why I love The Office, Little Miss Sunshine and Juno so much is because she loves those shows, too.

7. Even though she pokes fun and sarcastically calls me "Mr. Blogger", she knows she's actually my #1 fan!!

(Right, Babe?)

8. Kelly continues to push me to become a better husband, father, son and child of God. Even though I make it difficult on her sometimes, I know I desperately need that kind of help from her.

9. I've always loved to make Kelly laugh - which is why I enjoyed our dinner on her birthday. We both got really tickled at my own awkwardness during a formal meal.

(Why in the world do you need 4 forks to eat a meal anyway?)

10. I've said this before but it's still one of my favorites: I love the feeling of getting a hug from Kelly first thing in the morning!

Happy Birthday, Kelly! What a blessing you are to me!

What A Year It Has Been!

You may have noticed that I allowed Tate's first birthday to pass without so much as a comment or photo. That's because I've been busy working on his video.

Happy Birthday Buddy-Boy!



In case you'd like some more, here's the video I did after Tate's first week.

Why Does This Stuff Happen To Me?

Today is my 32nd birthday. Unfortunately, it's one I'll never forget.

It started out great with 45-mile bike ride in the morning - although I nearly died of heat stroke towards the end.

I actually remember telling myself during the ride to be extra careful because it would really stink to have an accident and have to spend my birthday in the ER.

(In High School, we referred to this as foreshadowing)

With family coming over later for dinner I made my way into the kitchen in the afternoon to start cutting the husks off of my world famous grilled corn on the cob. Suddenly I noticed that I wasn't cutting corn husks - I was cutting my finger!

Blankity-blank-bleepin'-blank!

Kelly and I did all that we could to stop the bleeding but we soon realized I would need stitches! And on my birthday no less!!

So with company due at 6:30, dinner for 11 nowhere near ready, the house a mess, Tate about to wake up and needing to be fed and neither of us dressed for the evening, I left at 5:00 for the urgent care clinic.

I have to hand it to Kelly. If I were her I would probably just said 'the heck with it' and ordered pizza! But somehow she was able to get everything ready in time all by herself. I wonder if that has anything to do with her being passed out on the couch right now.

As for me, I got to go pay $35 to have 5 sutures implanted in my finger. When it looked like I wasn't going to get out of there anytime soon I started to fake fainting due to a loss of blood. I guess I'm not a very good actor because it still took 2 hours to get in and out.

Dinner back at home went great and my family was super-sympathetic. And now I have to say that the only thing that really hurts at the moment is realization that those stinkin' Dallas Cowboys have some type of dang mental block when it comes to playing the Houston Texans! Those stinkin' Cowboys!

Maybe for my birthday next year Kelly will buy me a book on self-preservation. That is, of course, if I make it to my next birthday!

8 Years and counting!

Today is our 8th Wedding Anniversary!

(Kelly's family portrait at our wedding reception - we were so young!)

Add 2 and a half years of dating & engagement and somehow I've convinced my wonderful wife to stick around for almost 11 years. I know - impressive, isn't it?

So in 8 years of marriage, Kelly and I have created quite a list of memories - here are my top 8 in no particular order.

1. Our first apartment . . . all 720 square feet of it!

2. Kelly nursing me back to good health - Since we've been married I've been hospitalized for a head injury, was rushed back to the ER because of a second head injury, taken by ambulance to Baylor ER because of a cycling accident, subsequently suffered horrendous migraines, hyper-extended my knee, sprained my ankle twice and endured a nasty paper-cut while selling copiers. She's an honorary RN!

3. Our vacations - My favorite one so far was to Washington D.C.

(Kelly & I on the Potomac River in Washington D.C.)

4. Bringing home Macy for the first time - I picked Macy out of a litter from a breeder and brought her home to meet Kelly. It was love at first sight!

(Macy at 2 months old!)

5. Closing on our house - We felt so grown up!

6. Hugging Kelly at the finish line of her marathon - It was so cool to watch Kelly reach a goal that she had worked so hard to accomplish . . . we both cried!

7. How our miscarriage brought Kelly & I closer together - Don't want to be a 'Debbie Downer', but we can both see how God was able to bring good out of a really cruddy experience; which ultimately made us better parents . . . speaking of which . . .

8. Little Man Tate - Our greatest accomplishment so far!

Kelly, the time we have spent together means so very much to me. My list of favorite memories is much, much longer than this and I love that we are adding to it each and every day.

I love you very much - Happy Anniversary!

W

Look Who's A Birthday Girl!

I’ll let Kelly tell you how old she turns today should she decide to make that public information.

But meanwhile, let me add another 12 random things I love about my wife to my previous list of 20.

(Side note: Do you know that 20 + 12 = 32? Yep, 32! Crazy, huh?)

In no particular order:

1. The cute little things she says; such as when Kelly called me at home when she got lost driving around Carrollton and simply asked, “Where am I?”

2. Even though Kelly has cute little sayings, it seems like we have really cool thought-provoking discussions once a month about everything from politics and religion to parenting systems. I’m usually the one walking away from those discussions telling myself that I need to be more open-minded.

3. When I helped Kelly pack up her office after she resigned from American Heart Association I was cornered by her assistant who went on and on about what a wonderful experience it was to work for Kelly.

That reminded me that Kelly is much better at what she does than I am at what I do. And, yes, I actually love that about her!

4. And because of #3, Kelly is a great soundboard for me when I need to ‘think out loud’ about my work.

5. Little known fact about Kelly: One of her prized possessions is a collection of about 30 different colored Sharpie pens that she uses to write notes to her friends. And Heaven help me if I were to use one to so much as write down a phone number!

6. She’s perfectly fine if the outside of her car is covered in mud, yuk and bug guts so long as the inside is nice and clean. (For those of you who don’t know, Kelly’s car is black not dusty brown)

7. Kelly at least pretends to like my cooking.

8. Kelly is an even better Mom than I thought she'd be.

9. She teaches me not to respond with emotion but instead with logic.

10. She always compliments my yard work. (Although with all the weeds I don't know why.)

11. Kelly is very protective of our family time.

12. And last, but certainly not least – She’s proud to be a Strzinek! (Although she’s pretty quick to remind people that she was first an Enright!)

Happy Birthday, Babe!

PS: No, I did not bake that cake!

The Big 3-1!

A few more grey hairs above my ears can only mean one thing – I turned 31 today!

(Double click on the play button below to get the birthday party started!)



31 is an unusual age so I decided on an unusual celebration by taking Kelly to a local taping of The Wheel of Fortune (Vanna and Pat are in Dallas for the weekend – I’ll let Kelly tell you about it on her blog).

After that, Kelly and I got dressed up in formal wear for a night out at a . . . Women’s Republican Party fund raiser (huh? – my mom’s extremely politically active – oh).

Yeah, so I’m thinking I get to do what ever the heck I want on Saturday. Hmm, what shall I do? I know – I’ll pound out some serious miles on my bike!!!

But before I do, I’ll share with you some of the more memorable birthday presents I’ve received over the years:

1. The guitar Kelly gave me my senior year at ACU. I still have it but I upgraded to an electric-acoustic Takamine.

2. My red go-cart that I used to terrorize neighborhood cats and dogs when I turned 9.

3. My Honda Elite 50 moped when I turned 14 – I drove it everywhere even though I didn’t have a license. There was a short cut that I would take to get to a friend's house that went right through Kelly's neighborhood. Now that I think of it, I think Rick was that guy who always cut me off!!!

4. My Honda 100cc street legal dirt bike when I turned 15 – I got a license for this one.

5. My first car when I turned 16: a 1984 Mazda RX-7. I loved that car until the day I wrecked it!

6. My mom gave me a green duster when I was a freshman at ACU (For those of you in NoCal, a duster is a long cowboy coat). The funny thing is that I have never owned a pair of cowboy boots, a cowboy hat, a big silver belt buckle, a pair of Wranglers or even a country CD – so why in the world would I wear a duster? I remember my mom saying, “You’ll look so cool walking around on campus!” I made her take it back!

7. My first road bike – as in last year!

8. Speaking of last year: Kelly throwing me a birthday bash for my 30th!

9. Kelly got me a grill a few years ago. I’m still learning how to make the most of it from the experts like dad-n-law Rick and Mike L. I do have to say that I make a mean roasted corn on the cob! The steaks? Eh, not so much . . . yet!

10. One of my favorite shirts I ever got from my sister was a khaki long sleeve Polo when I was 18 years old – I still wear it!

11. When I turned 14, Philip picked me up and took me to Putt-Putt to play video games. After that we saw a movie. I remember it well because, at least for one day, it actually felt like we were brothers.

Here’s to another year!

Has it already been 7 years?

Today is our 7th wedding anniversary!

This morning, Kelly said, "Wow! 7 years!" I have to admit that at first I got a little defensive, "What? Are you surprised that we made it this far?" On one hand I thought, if you expect to make it past your 50th anniversay then the 7th shouldn't be any big deal. But on the other hand, Kelly's right - it's 7 years! If you add our dating years, then Kelly and I have been in a relationship for 10 years - which is one third of my life! Wow! Needless to say, the last 10 years have been my favorite!

Just out of curiousity, I googled 'wedding anniversary' and this is what I found from the 52,800,000 search results:

- The gift suggestion for year 7 is either wool or copper (Thanks, that really narrows it down!)
- A vacation package called 'Romance in Canada' (I've never understood why Niagara Falls is the number one honeymoon destination in North America - there's not even a beach!)
- An advertisement for marriage counseling (It's the gift that keeps on giving!)
- A florist advertising an especially nice (and especially expensive) floral arrangement specially made for those knuckle-heads who forgot thier anniversary (If you forget your anniversary then you need to be thinking in much bigger terms than just up-sizing her flowers)
- Wedding Anniversary Speeches (No kidding, just fill in her name and you'll impress her with your spontaneous poetic rhetoric. Let's see . . . what rhymes with 'Kelly'?)
- Many, and I mean many, websites boasting exclusive photos of Prince Charles and Camilla as they vacation in Scotland during thier first wedding anniversary (Get a life, England!)

My favorite search result was a quote from Honore de Belzac (French novalist) who said, "A good marriage would between a blind wife and a deaf husband." Although I pretty much fulfill the position of a deaf husband, I think this is great advice on how to make it to the big 5-0. You have to close a blind eye and turn a deaf ear and instead focus on the things that make you smile.

If you have to know, for our anniversary I sent Kelly some flowers (I up-sized eventhough I didn't forget) and we purchased airline tickets to Playa del Carmen because water falls are over-rated!

I love you dearly, Kelly - always have, always will.