Man, I am jonesin' some Skyline Chili. Too bad the nearest one is in Indianapolis, about 27 hours away (according to Google Maps). If I was a pimped out rapper with a Bentley and a private jet I would fly to Indy tonight and get some Skyline, but I'm not so I'll just eat my baked potato.
This whole "having a baby and becoming a parent" thing has been a fun process. Its really caused me to examine who I am as a man, a husband, a future father etc. Its given me the opportunity to look at the things that have shaped me (family, music, sports, friend etc) and reflect on how they have all led me to this point, a point of becoming a father. And after examining all of these aspects of my development I realized something (that others have known for a while I presume); I'm a little twisted.
When a woman is pregnant and people talk to her about becoming a mother I assume most women have an overwhelming feeling of pride and joy for the fact that they will become a mother. They think of all the things they will be able to do with their child, how they will be able to care for this precious gift that they feel lucky to be given.
However, every time I hear someone talk to Rachel about becoming a mother something different happens. I grin, to show the person that is speaking to Rachel that I concur that she will be a great mother, but what's going on in my mind is completely different. The only thing that comes to my mind is the Danzig song "Mother". It was one of my favorite videos when I was in high school and while I agree "Mother" isn't a wholesome song about love and everlasting Joy, its what pops into my head. Maybe I'm a little twisted, I'm sorry. Chris.
Got a hole in one of my tires the other day that couldn't be plugged. Found a great deal on some hardly used tires and wheels in PHX that weren't much more than replacing the one tire I needed to replace. So, baby got new shoes. Ain't she purdy?
Hey guys,
Things are going pretty well with us here AZ. The temperature is dropping, days are become too short and I am stoked for Christmas. We have had a first snow of the year and as the year comes to a close that means one thing to us......BABY! January is fast approaching and we are getting more and more excited about our little bundle of joy to arrive and hang out with us.
During the pregnancy things have been text book. From belly measurements to weight gain to blood work, perfect across the board. However last week Rach had a cold so early this week we went to the doctor to see whats up and they noticed something funny about her heart, its beating like a marathon runners and this concerned them a bit.
So Rach was ordered to get an EKG and go to a cardiologist. The cardiologist so far isn't sure what is wrong with her. After an echocardiogram and some blood work everything looks fine, except for her high heart rate. So today she is strapped to a little machine that records her heart rate and hopefully this will help them determine whats wrong with my beautiful wife.
Please pray that they find the issue and that is something that is easily resolved. Thanks folk. Cheers.
Chris
I love the smell of a bike shop. If you have a chance tomorrow, go into your local bike shop and take a deep breath. Its something about the mix of rubber, spandex and chain lube that really calms the spirit. I hope tomorrow to have the opportunity to enjoy that smell, that's if the shop is done fixing my rear wheel. Also, a day off + perfect weather = an excellent day to ride.
Chris
Austin City Limits celebrates its 35th anniversary year -- making it the longest running music series in American television history, pretty cool.
Some of the most influential memories regarding playing guitar was watch Stevie Ray Vaughn on ACL. I've watched his live performance at least dozen times and fell in love with the improvisational style. The way he could just play and play and play stuck me as amazing as a young guitar player and I think it had a huge effect in the way I play and jam now.
Here is a article about their 35 years and on there is a great Ben Harper and Relentless 7 performance. Ben is another of my musical inspirations and this live version of Keep it Together is awesome. I really want to see him live some day. Check it out. Cheers.
Chris
I had a great time at the Nathan triathlon a couple of weeks ago. I still need to get the pics posted up, will do soon.
I am signed up yesterday for my next race for the fall, its the last of the Amica triathlon series on November 1st and I am stoked about it.
What I am hoping to do is to race these 2 shorter races this fall and try to up my distances next year. Should be fun. Cheers.
Chris
Hey guys,
Rachel updated the baby blog today. It was her first post with a picture, she was very excited about that fact.
www.holohanbaby.blogspot.com
Chris
Yesterday I did a survey seeing which baby names, of the ones we like, you guys like and the results are in.
Boy
Keegan-15
Oliver-7
Girl
Ayla-17
Harper-6
Funny thing is Keegan and Ayla are the names Rach picked and Oliver and Harper were mine. So I am choosing to take this extremely personal. I love you all...except the folks who voted for Rachel's names over my names. Cheers.
Chris
Ray Ray and I are thinking of a couple of different baby names that we like, but we can't decide.
We were thinking that we will post the ones we are thinking of here and we would love your feedback, please comment on what you like. Reply with which name you like for a boy and a girl.
Boy
-Oliver
-Keegan
Girl
-Ayla
-Harper
When Rach and I first moved to AZ one of the things that freaked me out was the coyotes. I wasn't sure how they react to someone walking or jogging by, will they attack a person? Everyone assured me that they wouldn't bother me, but I'm a Florida boy, I don't know coyotes.
So yesterday I was out for a jog and on my way home I saw 2 coyotes on the road with me. To be honest I was a little unsure because I've never seen them out like that. They looked at me, I looked at them and then one of them did something to settle my mind that they weren't about to attack. It took a dump in the road. I mean, I'm not a scientist, but I am sure that when any mammal is about to attack they don't take the time to squat and drop a deuce. So now I know the coyotes will leave me alone. Comforting. Cheers.
Chris
Last week Rach had her 2nd ultrasound and it was amazing. Just to see the face, fingers, toes, arms, legs, heart, brain etc... was one of the most exciting moments of my life.
Funny thing, during the ultrasound, my heart started pounding and I couldn't catch my breath. Does this mean I will pass out during the birth? I never thought I could be one of those husbands. We'll see. Haha, I hope I don't pass out.
I am loving the process of this child growing in Rachel's womb. Absolutely amazing. Cheers.
Chris
Ray Ray and I paid off our Jeep last Friday and got the title in the mail a few days ago. I can't believe we paid it off so fast.
Thanks Dave Ramsey for making us believe we could do it.
This past Jan or Feb I read Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover" and really wanted to get our finances in order. We only had 3 debts, the house (which is on the market and we can't do anything more than that), about a grand on a credit card and our Jeep. It hit me that we had more money wrapped up in our debt than we had cash which gave us a negative net worth, which in turn meant that we were broke. I didn't like that.
So I put the Jeep on Craigslist and was hoping to get rid of that and get a cheaper car with no payments. Rach told me not to do it, but I'm a bit obsessive, if I am into something I am totally into it and at this point in my life I was into paying off debt.
One day I thought to myself I should just as Dave, so I called the show. He said something to me that I rarely hear him say, he told me if I like the Jeep I should keep it, but just have it paid on in 18 months. So we decided to keep it, but to attack it with everything. We stopped going out to dinner, buying clothes, going to the movies. An we actually were able to pay the credit card and the Jeep off in 6 or 7 months. Freaking amazing.
If you haven't read "Total Money Makeover", you really should. Its great at getting you excited about how to wisely use money. Basically, if you have the cash, buy it, if don't, don't. What a concept? Cheers.
Chris
End of Summer
Friday was the end of summer camp for the 2009 season. It was a great summer. Our programs ran smoothly and our summer staff was awesome. I was so impressed with the work that our summer staff put in, great job guys.
Mexico
I am going to Rocky Point, Mexico tomorrow to film a video with the missionaries for this summer, Dustin and Brittney Patrick. We are driving tomorrow, filming and spending the day working with the Patricks, spend the night in some condo they can get for free and then coming home sometime on Tuesday. Should be a fun trip.
Dustin and Brit are good friends of ours and I am looking forward to seeing where they work and what they do first hand. Cheers.
Chris
