Why I Oughta...

Whilst in the throws of our first winter in our house, I'm taking time to notice some of the small design touches that Nat help make when we put the place together. The construction process was soooo long and frankly....frustrating, that I forgot how many decisions needed to be made. Cabin fever can make you introspective, I suppose. One of those decisions (or many of those decisions) were light fixtures. I had focused mostly on the 'bones' of the construction - all the rough plumbing, electric, insulation, location of walls, windows, doors, etc. And, Nat was able to focus on some of the other finishing touches like the color/type of the sinks, cabinets, and most notably fixtures. One of the nicer ones she picked out is below (I actually like ALL of the lights she picked and she HATES every one of the ones I picked). You hardly notice it, but when I take the time to pay attention, I can enjoy the details. It fits well with the rest of the house, fits well with

A while back, we had Mayor Richard Daley over to the Google office to launch his YouTube channel. It wasn't the first time I had met him, but it was the first time that I actually had a conversation with him - we greeted him in the lobby and chatted up the elevator. Now...looking at this picture, you might think he was at an event to help combat homelessness, but, alas, he wasn't. Unfortunately, that's just what I look like at work sometimes. (and I knew he was coming!) Come on Nat! Open up both eyes when I sneak out the door in the morning. Help me make sure this doesn't happen when a dignitary is coming to see me.

We live in the suburbs. No denying it. Hence the subtitle of this new blog. In fact, I've always lived in the suburbs. Sure, I lived in Champaign for four years and spent a bit of time after college on the northside with some friends, but I moonlighted @ home with my folks the whole time. (Ask my roomies...they'll vouch for that!) I ran for office in the suburbs and really enjoyed creating a community amongst our neighbors and friends. Guess I'm just a suburban-type of guy. In 2008, we moved. To. Another. Suburb. Much to Nat's chagrin. We picked Elmhurst for a variety of reasons - the right house, the right street, and the location of the town relative to work, family, and more. When people ask where we live - which happens all the time - I never shy away from telling them we live in Elmhurst. I love the town. I love our street. I love how accessible Elmhurst is to just about everywhere. Nat, on the other hand is a late comer. She has come to (I believe) l

This Christmas, we received this carving from ( bare with me....this is a long description! ) Nat's sister Elise's (at that time) boyfriend Bill. I say "at that time" because....wait for it.....THEY'RE NOW ENGAGED! Back to the sign. Bill told us about this piece of art/wood back near our wedding and showed us what it was going to look like. He's a artist in lots of ways - one of them wood. He really outdid himself - the piece turned out gorgeous and fits so well into the look of our home. Our house is bungalow and has some craftsman elements. I'm not totally sure what tools he used, but this isn't his first wood-working project, so I know he has a wide range of equipment at his disposal. It is made on Brazilian Cherry wood - which he said was extraordinarily strong and made it difficult to carve. Bill is quite a skilled craftsman, eh? Rumor has it his wood-working skills played a role in the engagement process, too! 2008 was such a meaningful

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.