Half a year later

I honestly don’t even know where to begin. My last post was in December of 2014, and it’s now July 2015. That’s WAY to long to go without posting. So today, I start again.

But where to start? Do I make a post about Jack, Lane, Tough Mudder, my new tattoo, the basement, work, beer, the gym, or somewhere else? Too much has happened over the past 7 months to capture it all. There’s just no way to get it all into a post, and I’m sure I’ve forgotten more things than I’d ever be able to share here.

So now that I’ve wasted the first two paragraphs talking about how much I haven’t talked about in the past year I’m just gonna get right down to things.

65839600-5811-4401-B20E-63067F4660BEJack:
Jack is about to be 9 months old. We love this guy! He’s got so much personality and is such a Turner that it hurts some times. He’s not quite rolling over consistently yet, but he’s certainly done it a few times. He is on baby food, eats everything, and is growing like crazy. Right now he’s teething and about to cut his 8th… or 9th tooth. We’ve lost count as it happens so rapidly. The other week he started saying “dadadada” and then “mamamamama”. So talking isn’t far off. We’ve got a walker that he really enjoys being in because he’s mobile. I have a feeling this kid will be walking before he can craw, which is something he’s not really been keen on as of yet. So, this is a far cry from the last time I posted about Jack. He still frustrates the hell out of us, but I don’t know of any 9 month old that is just always the perfect baby. Oh, and he’s trending about 8-9 months ahead of his age as far as clothing, so that’s always fun.

OCR (Obstacle Course Races):

Watch these. That’ll pretty much sum things up. Jess and I have done both a Tough Mudder and Warrior Dash this year. I have 2 Spartan races coming up in the fall and can’t wait!

Work:
Work is work. I’ve been working on the same project for the better part of 2 years now. The good thing is, its not something that has either a budget or end date. I can always add more features and functionality and as long as our sales team sells it, I’ll be in demand!

The house:
I don’t know what I have / haven’t posted about in regards to what’s been done around the house. We’ve done more landscaping in the back yard, had some more trees cut down, painted some rooms, re-arranged furniture, contemplated finishing things, started new things and generally been home owners who own a home that always have something to do. Also, it seems that no matter how much water I put on the grass it doesn’t want to turn into a golf course.

Jack and LaneLane:
Where to even begin with this kid?! He’s grown so much in the past year that it’s hard to capture it all even if I posted every day. There’s nothing this kid can’t do, especially if you ask him. As a general rule he really can do most things, and even things he can’t he’ll give it a try. This kid surprises me all the time. He wanted some yogurt out of the fridge the other day, so he found a stool, took it into the kitchen, climbed to the top shelf of the fridge and got it. He only likes to ask for help, so you can watch him do something on his own. He loves his family, gets frustrated and communicates why, tells jokes, remembers things that both Jess and I have long since forgotten, is able to follow even the most complex of directions. I want to freeze time so I can keep him at this age forever, but I am also excited to see what’s next in his big little world.

Friends:
It seems that these days its becoming more and more difficult to make time to hang out with my friends. We’ve all got kids now and syncing up schedules and such is always such a chore. On the off chance that we do get to hang out, its a great time. I love my friends and have some really great people in my life.

Jess:
Speaking of great people in my life…. This woman. She’s my best friend. My companion. My wife. My everything. There are days when she frustrates me, days when I frustrate her, but at the end of EVERY day there is such a deep love and respect that I can’t imagine any other life. She has grown so much as a mother, teacher, and person in the past year and I am just so proud of all the things she has accomplished. There really is a never ending list of ways I love her.

The gym:
First off, I still HATE pull-ups. I have continued to get stronger, faster, better, and more well rounded in the gym. But my hands and my grip are still weak and no matter what I do, I will most likely rip. I did the Memorial Day Murph, which has 100 pull-ups and despite finishing I did some serious damage to my hands. Despite my pull-ups not getting much better, I’ve increased the weight that I can lift via deadlift, clean, jerk, push press, drastically. But with that being said this past week I discovered that we all have bad days and my bad day was an abysmal performance while trying to do a bench press. In my attempt to simply do the same weight/reps I’ve done before I failed. A lot. This left me with a sour taste in my mouth, but at the same time, it gave me a drive to get back in the gym and work on my weakness and turn it around.

Varicose veins:
I had them, not so much any more. Many, many, many years in the making and I have finally gotten ride of the veins that were so unsightly in my legs. I’m only about a week out from my final procedure, but I can tell that things are improving. In about 5 more weeks all the swelling should be down and I’ll have some silky smooth legs! Well, maybe not that much, but they’ll be tenfold better than they were.

Chase, Jack, JessChase:
We have a teenager. And a teenager he certainly is. One minute he’s dancing and singing in the kitchen with us, the next he’s completely shut him self into his room and won’t join us for anything. He has some massive mood swings and they come out of nowhere. With that being said, he’s still a really good kid. There are other teens out there that are just unbearable, but not Chase. He has all the signs of being a teen, and just like with our other two kids, eventually he’ll grow out of that phase and move on to the next one. Hopefully the football he’s signed up for that starts in the fall will help him with that.

All the rest:
Like I mentioned earlier, I can’t begin to cover everything. My goal is to keep posting and try to capture as much of the day-to-day as I can. Pics, videos, Tweets, etc., I’d like to get it all, or at the very least a majority of it.

This day can suck it.

Let me count the ways:

  1. Baby was fussy this morning and wide awake at 5:35, a mere 10 mins before my alarm was set to go off. Don’t you just love waking up BEFORE your alarms goes off. Also, he didn’t feel it was necessary to go back to sleep.
  2. I weighed myself today, thinking I would be on track for my P90X goal. Nope. Looks like I’m right at where I started. Things fit better, I feel and look better, but I want that damn scale to reflect something!
  3.  This thing: Delights Turkey Sausage Quesadilla, probably made me more hungry than I was before I started eating it.
  4. I got a reminder this morning that I should check the cap on anything prior to shaking it. My reminder came in the form of a bottle of coffee creamer splattered all over me, the floor, and the inside and out of the fridge.
  5. My cat may or may not be outside today. He’s never been outside for more than a like a minute. Here’s hoping for the best.
  6. Might as well be driving to hell

    I mean… what the deuces man?!

  7. While driving through construction you might encounter a rock on your windshield. That is unless you are me, in which case you will definitely encounter a rock to your windshield. Also, said rock will indeed crack your windshield and you will have a delightful time cursing out the world in your anger.
  8. Someone at work thought it would be acceptable to simply turn on the warmer and NOT actually make more coffee. So my coffee this morning at the office was a little funky tasting. Good thing I had time to stand around and make another pot.

So far that’s it. Just nine mishaps or plans go awry today. Luckily it’s only 9am and I have the whole day ahead of me to either get it together or Hulk smash everything into tiny bits. Let’s hope for the sake of my co-workers that it’s the former.

Happy Monday y’all!

2011 – Let’s review

2011 started off like any other year, with a wicked ice storm that pretty much shut down the whole state of Georgia. We made the best of it and actually had a really great time. We wouldn’t get that kind of ice/snow again for the rest of the year. I’m actually hoping that we get one again, only this time we’ll have a lil’ baby with us.

February brought us Gracie. A Great Dane that would put us to the test.

Neither one of us had ever owned such a beast. She was one of the sweetest and happy dogs ever, but damn was she a handful. After many ‘discussions’ we finally decided to find another home for her. Luckily I was able to find a nice lady that lived on a farm, a real one night the typical ‘dog farm’. Off to a better home Gracie went and I’m sure she is much happier now.

March ushered in some Spring little league for Chase. He really got into the ‘swing’ of things and enjoyed himself.

Honestly it was a lot of fun. We got to meet some new people and Chase had a lot of fun. I don’t think the Mudcat’s won that many games, but it didn’t really matter to him, he just wanted to play.

I don’t think much happened in April. Well… I mean Chase did get to go a Wrestlemania Art show, meet a bunch of wrestlers and then go to the actual PPV. Oh, and there was Tax Day. Hmm… something else happened… Oh that’s right, WE GOT MARRIED!!!! It was a wonderfully magic wedding. Everything we had hope for. I got to finally call the love of my life my bride, and it was the beginning of our forever. The honeymoon was in Vegas, and well… and we know good and well what happens in Vegas, doesn’t always stay in Vegas. In addition to finding out we were pregnant (but really what could top that) we spent the May kinda floating around in happiness and bliss.

Every summer we like to take a family vacation, and a pregnancy this year wasn’t going to slow us down. For the 2011 Summer Vacation we decided it would be a lot of fun to head to Disney! We loaded up the car and drove down to the most magical place on earth. Chase had never been and neither Jess nor I had been in SEVERAL years so it worked out perfectly. It wasn’t easy for Jess with the heat and the walking plus being pregnant, but we made it. It was a great vacation and a birthday I don’t think Chase will ever forget.

The rest of the summer went on by, carrying with the ups and downs of being pregnant. We found out we were having a boy and man, that made me excited. I was the last male Turner and to be able to continue the name, meant a lot to me.

As August rolled around we started getting read to go back to school, and doing just normal family things. Chase was doing great and really getting into the spirit of being an older brother. He was helping around the house and he just felt a little more grown up. October would creep upon us before we knew it and in addition to me getting a new car and turning 32 it started to really sink in that I was going to be a daddy, very soon.

Between Halloween and right now it’s all kind of a blur. It’s as if time sped up and didn’t really wait. We had our first, and second baby shower and started getting the nursery ready. Baby clothes, diapers, wipes, toys, bottles, all of it started coming in and every time we would get something new it would sink in just a bit more how soon this bundle of joy would be here. Lane’s nursery looked fantastic and in no time at all everything was in its right place and we could start getting ready for the holidays.

Baby Lane's Room
Baby Lane's Room

Our Christmas tree was up BEFORE Thanksgiving, and the house was all set and ready to go. We made our rounds to friends and family. Did the gift exchanges and then it was Christmas day at the Turner household. I couldn’t have asked for a better holiday season. My wife was glowing with that baby glow, Chase was happy and doing all the big brother things and I was doing everything I can to make the house and my wife ready for this baby.

In contrast to the rest of the year, this past week has been filled with lots of taking it slow. Everything we could possibly do to be prepared for Lane, we have done. The bags are packed, the car seat is in, clothes washed and put away, house is secure, etc. You name it, we’ve done it. Now all we need is for Lane to come home.

It’s been such a wonderful year. I’m sure I left things out, but it’s all good. They say that the first year of marriage is the toughest thing you’ll go through other than the 9 months your wife is pregnant. Well, I’ve done both at the same time and I’m more in love now than the day I got married and I don’t see signs of this ever stopping.

That's my boy!
That's my boy!

Thanks for all the memories 2011, but it’s time for 2012!

~SB

Nervous in my spirit

In a few hours I board a plane an fly back to Texas. This trip was planned a week ago, while I was in Texas. That trip was finalized the day before departure.

This trip in particular has me a bit nervous. I’ve given presentations on the products my company offers dozens of times. I’ve done it over the phone on a WebEx, or in person. I’ve walked other people through giving the presentation when my internet connection wasn’t working. It’s pretty much a no-brainer at this point. Today however, I am presenting to Facebook. One of the core fundamentals of my company is to deliver a social presence to brands. It could be large scale, multi-billion dollar clients or it could be a mom and pop store. What ever their needs are, that’s what we deliver. Since we primarily do our work on FB they want to see our product offerings. They want to see our tools and applications and how we are able to quickly turn around a solid user experience in their platform. Luckily, I get to show them all that. Certainly there will be others in the room to answer questions, but for the most part I’ll be showing off all the shiny toys we have in our arsenal.

So yeah, I’m a bit nervous today. I’ve been up for a few hours making sure I had everything I needed. SJ is down there sleeping peacefully, which brings me peace, and soon I’ll be on my way. I just hope that all goes well and I don’t fumble. I don’t think I will, but when you’re presenting “your baby” to someone, you really want them to be as proud of it as you are.

Every time I leave for business I miss my wife more and more. I know she and Chase and everything is going to be fine, I just miss them and I get anxious. Perhaps in time that will change, but I kinda hope it doesn’t. I want to always miss my wife, even if I go less than 24 hours with out seeing her.

GrrrrtotheFace!

Grrrface. That’s what I am right now. I have so many awesome, wonderful things going on in my life, but there’s just one little part to remedy. And what sucks is…it’s where I spend most of my time. When the place you spend 8+ hours a day is making you miserable, something’s got to give! Next week is Winter Break and I fully intend to hit the streets and find something closer to home. Send me good vibes, prayers, whatever it is you do. If not for my sake then for the boys I live with. Bless ’em for putting up with my foul mood for the first hour after I get home. 🙂

Other than the previous, things are great lately! Life has been extremely different lately. The journey to get me where I am now is not a fun one to look back on interesting…but the destination is turning out quite beachy. <3 Also...this weekend is Valentine's Day! I know it can be silly holiday. Why not tell someone you love them EVERY day instead of waiting for a holiday?? I get that...but it's also a great reason to come up with some Special Secret Sniper Plans! I have dinner reserved and the hotel booked. I can't wait to put SniperBen in the car Saturday morning and drive to our secret destination. This is not our first Valentine's Day...but it's the first one that counts. 🙂 The following week is Winter Break! Soooooooooo stoked about that! I am planning a trip to Snow Mountain that week and I’m also gonna start car shopping. I can’t believe poor Ol’ Greg has even made it as long as he has…and my tax money is going towards new wheels so he can finally be put to rest.

So…back to the grrrface. I wonder…what do YOU do to find your happy place at work? Favorite website that makes you smile? Something that gets you through the day? So far…blogging is working ok for me. 🙂