Christmas 2007

More than just presents...
It's the time of year that calls for fellowship, assisting those that really need the help, and finding the peace within your lives to live a better day...

Fall is here and so are the short hours...

Baby Gina is still a hoot. She is keeping us up late and waking us up early. Of course Jill is getting less sleep because she is breast feeding. I am lucky to get 4 1/2-5 hours of sleep a day.
When I get home from work I cannot deviate from taking care of the family. I don't know how single mothers do it!
We've had a lot of help in the form of house work getting done and meals getting made by our families. Bless are families!

Mara is doing great with Gina. She will lay by Gina if given the chance. She continues to sniff her a lot---just being a good bigger sister/dog.

The leaves are a fallin. I'm gonna wait til' they are all off until I pile them up. Geesh. Just seemed like these cold temps were here. Then again, maybe not.

Gina is now just over 4 weeks old. Holy crow!

New Life

Gina Marie came into the world after 6pm on Thurs. September 13th, after mother labored for 21 hours. Jill tried and could not deliever naturally after 2 hours of pushing, so she had a C-Section. Gina is 7 pounds 14 ouces. She is 21 inches long with a 14 inch head. She came out with black hair and blue eyes. She is quite the darling!

Jill is doing well in recovery.

I cannot imagine anything tougher than labor and delivery, even though I did none of these things, I still had the chance to catch it all at my wife's side.
More to come...

My other blogs on a different server...

The Best Birdseed in the area...
comes from the Mathie Energy Supply Co., Inc. They are located in the Historic Kawkawlin Elevator in Kawkawlin, MI. Even thought it takes roughly 20-25 minutes to get there, it is well worth the wait. The birdseed selection is excellent. I have looked all over in the try cities. Mathie is the best. Every time I go I get 3 to 4 premium birdseed bags. The stuff is so good that very little of the seed is wasted by the birds and squirrels. Be sure to get Customer card that allows you to get a free bag after purchasing 20 bags.

They also have dog and catfood, horsefood, and various other foods for animals. The shop also carries various other knicknacks. Search their website here.

Friday, August 24. 2007
Posted by keepitgreen at 10:38 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
Recycling
Thank goodness for our recycling abilities here in Midland. How great is it to have an option to either have recyling at curbside, or drive it to the Midland Volunteers for Recycling center. As cities across the tri-cities start to limit their city services, I am glad to see Midland continue with its recyling programs.

Our household recycling is so sucessful, I sometimes don't need to put out the trash to the curb until 2 to 3 weeks have passed. There are some dwellings around us that put out huge piles of cardboard products each week. Although cardboard is sometimes tedious to break down, there is still some satisfaction for me when I do recyle it! Last month, during the assembly of the nursery, I took 2 carloads of cardboard to the recycling center!

The volunteers at the recycling center are dedicated and willing to tell you where things go if you are unsure. Some of the unique things they take there are: styrofoam, bubble wrap, plastic shopping bags, packaging peanuts and scrap metal.

Recycling DOES NOT take up too much of your day. Just think of all the landfill space you are saving when you do it!

Thursday, August 23. 2007
Posted by keepitgreen at 12:07 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
Signs of fall...
Recently I stopped hearing the morning calls of the flickers that have been residing near my yard during the spring and summer for the past two years. Trees are starting to show shades of different colors. The rain and brief period of cooler weather reminded me of October.

My wife's due date is quickly approaching.

The nursery is set (stocked to the gills with extra diapers and both boy and girl clothing--with receipts in the bags).

My dog has more energy during the cooler parts of the day (yahhhhhhh!).

The blockbuster summer movie itch is fading.

Mums are becoming the dominant plant in nurseries.

Lets not forget the college students returning to class. Thank goodness I will be taking an online course this fall (while working full time as well as raising a newborn and dog with my wife).

Soon leaves will be piling up----needing to be raked---unless you don't mind having a dirt spot in the lawn in the spring (only took one time to get the picture).

There will still be some good days to play tennis outside. Hopefully Midland will get courts that have lights someday. Perhaps the city could look into the group that organized the new little league fields---to see if they want to get behind the tennis court lights fundraiser---.

High school sports (with many people looking to the football action) is almost here. Hopefully Bay City Central H.S. players can resist the urge to "borrow" lawn ornaments. See the story here. Hopefully, all our STUDENT athletes strive to lead disciplined and well adjusted lives on and off the fields and courts this year.

The last of the hummingbirds and butterflies linger in the shorter days. Soon, birdfeeders will be ready to be stocked...

Cheers!

K.I.G.

Winning the last match...

Last night my partner and I played our final mixed doubles match of the summer. We've steadily improved on our play, but had yet to get a win. The team we were playing had a winning record of 5-4. The woman on the other team had a good forehand and was a polite individual. The gentleman, on the other hand, really likes slamming home winners, delivering ill timed praised after they just won a point, and worst of all, had to clear his throat the entire match.

We had played the other team 2 times before--with it being relatively close. Last night, we jumped out to a 3-0 lead, only to have the other team come storming back to tie it up. Usually, this would me I would mentally collapse---but I was too pissed off to let this one slip by. That night, I was playing with a racket that was 12 years old. Our opponents were playing with the most recent Prince technology.

We pulled out the first set 6-3, our first winning set as a summer team. The second set proved to be an even bigger challenge. Several times the guy opposite of me would call "out" some very close serves. On the last one, well into the second set and nearly at our match time limit, he called my 1st serve on the deuce court wide (possibly due to the fact he had to run and lunge at the serve that was served all the way left in the box). I asked him if he was sure, something I have never done before at the tennis center, and he said "yes." Before I could let my second serve go, another ball from the adjacent court rolled by. The opposing guy called a "let" and "take two." Since he had never called this before in the previous 2 matches I figured he was feeling guilty about the last shot. He line calling may have cost us a few points, and some second set momentum. We ended up losing the second set 5-7. At least we won the most games during the match, giving us the win for the night.

Afterwards, there was a league ending grill party----cheap beer in a can and hotdogs. Ah, the cheap beer never tasted so good!

On Saturday, Aug. 25th I am entering a mixed doubles tourney at the Midland Tennis Center with a woman who subbed for my partner last week. She is a very good serve and volley person, and I look forward to playing the min. 4 matches. Should be a long yet enjoyable day. The day after, Sunday, I start my fall league. I will be playing in a singles league that will really push me--wahoo!
Until next time....

36 weeks and counting....

This picture of my wife carrying our first child was taken last week. Since then, nothing has really changed except her having an Oreo craving, needing more back massages, and running out to target to get a few more stretchy shorts. She's really handling being pregnant quite well. Sometimes I think I have way more mood swings than her....

Her family started a 2 dollar pool in reguards to her due day, with the tiebraker being baby's weight.

I do not have much time left of quiet. The hum of the computer and the ocassional passing car are the only noises right now. Soon, EVERYTHING will be different!

Tennis anyone?

I belong to a tennis center in the city of midland.
In high school, I used to play this sport all the time. In high school, I was eighty pounds less than I am now.
I must admit I am exercising more-----but I still have a long way to go. Playing tennis in the summer heat is a tough go!

Today, I got to sub in a single's league that had 3.75 to 4.0 players in it. I was pretty inconsistent and proving that I was out of shape. Temp's were in the mid to high eighties. It may have been the most humid day of the year! Sweat was rolling off the brim of my had by the start of the second set. I was down 0-2 in the second set, then came back to tie it at 2-2, only to lose 2-6. The first set I lost 1-6.

Tennis is such a mental game!!!! When your mind wanders---so does everything else in your game!

Stay active folks!

My sister painting the nursery and some of her work.

This is my sister painting the baby's room above this writing. At the top of the page is her abstract artwork called "windows."

Hangin' with a buddy...

Mara and I have been getting a lot more time together since my wife has gone back to work.
The back lawn is lookin' better than it did in the spring, after Mara gouged the earth with her turns, leaving deep rutts in her wake. Now, a copius amount of weeds grow from the dust. For whatever reason, today was the day she decided to bring the ball back when called. I hope this is just a small step in our many attempts at appropriate play.

Mara has an assortment of sticks and old tennis balls at her disposal during our play time outside. She gets going at a pretty good clip. Usually she signals the end by unravelling her tongue and finding a shady area.

Yesterday I saw a hummingbird zoom by while I was taking out Mara. I was so enthralled I had to call my parents. I do have a Bee Balm plant on the back corner of my garage that it seemed to be checking out. Too bad I didn't have a camera.

This hot weather should tire us both out rather easily over the next few days. Temps. are gonna be in the low to mid 90's.
That's all for now....

Day One of "working out"

In the morning I took my dog Mara on an hour walk. In the early afternoon I went on a 9 mile bikeride on the Midland Railtrail. In the evening I played an hour and a half of tennis. Can this continue?

I hope so!

I really need to find some sort of routine because I want to be runnin' around with the new baby come September...

Mt. Marathon/Seward Alaska

In the summer of 2005, 12 guys from Michigan set out to fish Halibut in Seward Alaska, and to visit other areas of Alaska, including Denali National Park.

If you ever visit Seward Alaska, on of the few places in America to experience a massive tidal wave, you must give Mt. Marathon a try.

Warning! This hike may kick your butt on a warm day. Bring plenty of water. If you run out, hopefully somebody will be nice to yah! On the plus side, it turns out


to be a nice getaway if you are traveling in a large pack.

During my first attempt with a few of my mates from our crew, I got hit in the head by a softball size rock trying to ascend on the side that requires a little bit of skill. I took a break and then proceeded to go up the jeep trail---located off of a side street. Many hours later, having to borrow some water from the top from a nice gal who took it from one of the streams fed by the melting snowpack, I made it up.

The older gents in the group were filming me from the RV camp form below. They caught me in a "Rocky" pose with arms raised, after I reaced the top.

Cheers!
Adam P.