Why I Oughta...

The past few nights Chicago has gotten cold. Real cold. Our furnace was having trouble keeping up. I'd set it for 70, and it'd barely get up to 68 during the days and would drop low overnight - down to like 60...or below. We have two JUMBO direct vent electric start gas fireplaces, so heating the place when we are awake wasn't an issue (Nat and I are both afraid to leave them on at night), but I knew something was wrong. I feared the worse: time for a new furnace. I sauntered downstairs to the ice cold basement and had a peek around. Low and behold; I spotted the filter. I pulled it out an inch and **whoosh** I hear the furnace - which was struggling to get air - pull in a full breath and fire up. I pulled the filter out further and it was caked. Off to the web I went research the frequency one should change the filter and I discovered that during the heavy heat months (Dec, Jan, Feb), you should change it every month! The rest of the year, you can probably get

This afternoon in my inbox, I received this note and photo. I wish I had an answer for her. Daddy: Why won't Maisy stop barking? With Love, The Babe With a furrowed brow like that, there's no doubt she's mine!

Leaving the house this morning for work felt a whole lot different than it did the last time I saddled up for the office in December. I knew it would, but I underestimated the emotion involved. This wasn't just a new year - but rather - a new life. A father's role today (more specifically -my role) is dual: provide for the family, and bond with the new baby. The first part used to come pretty naturally - waking up, going to work, going to school, paying the mortgage. I actually enjoyed a great bit of it. But this morning, something changed. I'm sure the same thing happened to millions of new fathers across the globe in countless cultures. Instead of the job being something that used me, I started to look at the job as something I can use. The role I have at the office is NOW just a minor part of my life. Although I still love every single second of my work, it no longer carries the same meaning. (I'm not trying to be profound here, I'm just saying what

Before the holiday season gets pushed too far away from my memory, I thought that I'd share with you (and with the future me in 10 months) what I enjoyed since November. This year was a pivotal Christmas season - one of many firsts. First Christmas morning together (alone!) First Christmas in our own house (not a Condo or parents house!) First Christmas with our new babe First New Years that we went out at 5 pm and were home by 10 pm First batch of vanilla extract (more on this in another post) First time decorating our house (inside and out!) First time shopping for our own child ...and more! Without further delay, here's my list. Tammen Tree Farm . Although they keep raising their prices, there's no finer place to buy a tree in the area. I have tagged along with the entire Moran clan for the past 5 years. Paper Source Embosser . I'm a fan of correspondence cards. They can be thank you's, congrats, regrets, anything. Nat bought me an embosser

Still haven't gotten into the groove....

Blogging is back in 2010.  At least for me.  Going to try to post everyday of 2010.  No promises that I'll actually follow through.  Knowing me, I'll get bored by May.

Guess that's what happens when life gets busy.  (and Twitter is a thing!) I'll have to remedy this situation next year and get back to the blog.

Just 11 days away until I'm a married man. With the longest engagement on record (21 months!) winding down, I thought it'd be appropriate for me to share with you all (Ahem...is there anyone still there?) one of my favorite parts of this whole wedding planning business. Sure...we had all the showers, thank you cards, chicken dinner tastings, table cloth selections, ring shopping trips, and discussions of the various shades of pinks (It's not my color!). That was all good and important stuff. However, the part of this whole experience that Natalie let me run wild with and really leave my mark on was the rehearsal dinner. It's coming up in a bit over a week, and while I'm excited about the wedding, I'm really looking forward to the rehearsal dinner. From the location (Southport Lanes!) to the menu (Italian Beef Sandwiches!) to the invite list (skewed toward my friends/family!), Natalie gave me a lot of room to run. The most interesting/challenging part was t

It has come to this. With all the changes that have happened over the course of the past year (new job, new school , leaving public office ) and the biggest one coming up later this summer ( marriage ), there is one more thing that I'm looking to change: my location. I've lived in the most incredible condo in Frankfort, Illinois for the past (almost) four years. I bought it pre-construction and was lucky enough to pick out all of the finishes. The time has come to move on and I'm parting ways with my home. It was my first, but won't be my last. We've priced it incredibly (considerably below what others have sold for!) and this place is really looking for someone to love it as much as I did. There are NO better condo's in all of the southwest suburbs. I can guarantee that! (Seriously!) The details can be found here on the realtor's site . For a condo, it really has an incredible kitchen and is a great place to host a party. It's walkable to do

Whodathunk?