Update June 26, 2008 15:56
Posted by Ted in blogging, family, home.1 comment so far
So, it’s been a while since I’ve updated this site so I thought I’d sort of recap what’s going on in my life:
My Mom’s Cancer: She’s reacting VERY well to her chemo. She had her fifth of six chemo treatments yesterday (6/25/2008). Her doc is very excited about her treatment and doesn’t expect that the cancer will rear its ugly head again. Pure speculation at this point, but he keeps telling her that she’s the “perfect cancer patient.” Mom and Dad are flying down this Saturday to spend a few days with us and (hopefully) baby Lauren. (See below)
Baby #2: Lauren was due 6/21 and it’s now the 26th. If she doesn’t come naturally by June 2nd, we’re going in to induce at 9:00 AM. I’m taking the next three weeks off of work to stay at home with Jen, Claire, and baby Lauren.
I’ve been using Twitter waaaay more than blogging recently so if you wanna see what I’ve been up to, check it out.
Sacramento Train Museum Trip March 1, 2008 10:13
Posted by Ted in family, friends, home, photos, travel.add a comment
Last weekend, Jen, Claire and I joined the Johnston Clan (Caley, Sonya, Lex and Logan) and the Eppenbergers (Tom, Shelly and Lane) for a little adventure.
We weren’t sure we were going to be able to go as Jen had been terrible sick with the flu but she was starting to feel better and took a chance on going with us. It turned out to be just fine.
We started out by driving to Oakland to take the train from Jack London Square to Sacramento. On the way we made the usual train stops (I assume as I’d never been on this specific Amtrak line) and when we got to Suisun City we came across this beauty:
Claire claims it is a “mommy” train because it looks like a girl and who am I to argue with her?
When we got to Sacramento we took a quick five-minute walk from the train station to the Vagabond Inn and dropped off our bags. Once we got settled, we hoofed it over to the Train Museum and spent a few hours watching the kids run around and enjoy the museum:
I’d been to the museum before quite a few times when I was younger and once with Jen when we were still dating, but it was the first time for everyone else but Tom. I think Tom and I agree that the displays haven’t changed one bit since we were kids.
After the kids got naps in (well, Claire and Lane at least), Tom, Caley and I walked around Old Town Sac for a while and enjoyed some coffee and, as Tom mentioned in his blog what may very well be the world’s smallest comic book shop. As I’m a regular at the shop here in Livermore, I didn’t purchase anything but Tom and Caley did partake and it did my geeky heart proud.
We went to La Terraza for dinner and while, it tasted pretty good, it did a wonder on almost everyone’s stomachs. I wouldn’t recommend it. The only cool thing was watching Logan assed out on a few of the chairs:
I got some pics of him posed with some beer bottles too, but haven’t posted them on Flickr yet…
We got back to the hotel and played with the kids (and each other). There was a slight issue when Logan locked himself and Claire in the Eppenberger’s room for a while, but all in all they (and we) had a blast.
We got up the next morning, ate at Denny’s which was right next door and hoofed it back to the train station. The only time we really got hit with any bad weather was on the walk back to the train station when the skies opened up and it started raining. The rain wasn’t too bad, it was the wind that really kicked our asses and broke Jen’s umbrella.
We dried off at the train station and I got this picture of a a mural on the wall of the station:
We got home none the worse and have very fond memories of the trip. We totally need to make this a regular thing!
Today is Claire’s Third Birthday! January 21, 2008 11:46
Posted by Ted in claire, family, home.1 comment so far
Today, my daughter turns three years old! Can you believe it? It seems like just days ago I was looking at this:
Now, she’s running around the house and talking up a storm! I’m really so proud of my little girl and can’t wait to see how she turns out as an adult.
Happy birthday big girl, Daddy loves you!
We sold our house! (And got a new one!) August 14, 2007 20:31
Posted by Ted in home, photos.6 comments
Sorry for not posting sooner but the last few weeks have been pretty hectic, the next three weeks will be even more hectic so forgive me if I don’t post for a while.
We sold our house for less that we were asking, $445.000, but more, honestly than we were expecting.
We found our new house about 3/4 of a mile from our current place so we’re in the same neighborhood, which is awesome. We move in on the 7th of September. Here’s a picture of the new place’s exterior:
The back yard of the place is right up on the Springtown Public Golf Course, we’re on the fairway of the 1st hole. If I was a duffer, I’d be even more excited but we have gate access to the course and I assume that we’ll have access to play the course, but that’s as of yet unconfirmed. Here’s a picture of the backyard from the golf course:
Claire’s got her own little crib in the back yard which is adorable, here’s a picture of that:
The previous owners really took care of the place and you can tell they did upgrades to keep the house rather than upgrades-to-sell-the-house like many sellers would do. Here’s a picture of the VERY upgraded kitchen:
(We get to keep the fridge!)
We paid a little more than we had planned on spending, but it’s 100% move-in and the only work we’d need to do is some painting and nickel-and-dime stuff.
$459,950.00 Update 07/05/07 July 5, 2007 13:52
Posted by Ted in family, home, news.add a comment
Our agent had a broker open house today (where only realtors/agents look at the house) and the risk she took (showing the house the day after a holiday) paid off as we had 22 realtors/agents come and take a look at the house! She told us that we might expect 10-15 on an average day but there’d be a risk that they’d have taken the day off today for the holiday yesterday.
She told Jen that the house showed very well with only one “issue.” We’ve got a chip in the porcelain in our sink in the kitchen and need to fix that. We’ve got the repair kit to do so, we’d just not fixed it yet.
If that’s the worst of our issues, we’re in GREAT shape for our Open (to the public) House on Sunday the 8th from 1:30 – 4:30!!!
**UPDATE**
Looks like the house is up on realtor.com, only without any pictures yet. Here’s a link: CLICKY.
$459,950 July 3, 2007 8:13
Posted by Ted in family, home, news.1 comment so far
Our house goes on the market this afternoon for $459,950. It’s been a long time coming and we’ve put a lot of work into the house over the last four-plus years. We’ve got a new roof, painted inside and outside, a new stove/oven, new floors, new garage doors and more. I’m optimistic that we’ll sell the house within 30 days but hope it’ll sell faster.
I’ll keep this page updated with more info but the real estate broker will be coming over today to take pictures for the MLS site (~72 hours until it’s on www.realtor.com) then have a broker open house on Thursday the 5th. We’ll have our first Open House on the 8th (Sunday) as well.
Had a great weekend! June 26, 2007 10:02
Posted by Ted in claire, family, home, photos.add a comment
My folks came down to spend the weekend with us and, with the exception of Jen being violently ill for the majority of their trip, we had a great time. Saturday we took it easy and hung out at home with my parents as they were pretty wasted from the drive down from Washington.
Sunday, Claire, my folks and I went to the Alameda County Fair all day and had a blast! Claire and I rode the elephant ride:
She rode the Merry-Go-Round with my dad:
She got to see animals:
And danced like a crazy person:
All in just a few hours! We all had a great time at the Fair and definitely plan on going back later this Fair season. We even got in for free because it was “Military Appreciation Day” and you get free entry with a military ID. since both of my folks have military IDs we got free entry! Fantastic!
Yesterday we took Claire to go see Surf’s Up in the theatre, her first movie! She handled it like a pro and had a great time with her mommy, daddy, Gran and Papa. After dinner my folks and I took her to the local park and she got to run around with my folks’ dog Scooter:
Once we got home, she got to spend some quality time with Gram:
and Papa:
My folks are headed home today to spend some time with my new niece Maddie and have a relaxing summer.
Looking for Suggestions April 23, 2007 16:08
Posted by Ted in family, friends, home.3 comments
Wednesday is my and Jen’s 9-year wedding anniversary. The traditional gift is pottery and the “new” gift is leather. We’re trying to keep this on the cheap, so I need some suggestions that’ll keep me off of the couch.
Comments are not only welcomed, they’re encouraged!
Happy Birthday Jen! April 5, 2007 13:14
Posted by Ted in family, home.2 comments
Today is my lovely wife’s birthday. I can’t express how lucky I am to have her in my life as not just my best friend but also as a wife and mother to my child.
Happy Birthday Jen, I love you with all my heart and soul, here’s to many, many more birthdays!
Another reason to love Les Schwab March 22, 2007 15:53
Posted by Ted in family, home.add a comment
I’m headed down to the Central Coast tonight to spend the weekend with my dad and his ex-cop buddies (always a good time, drunk ex-cops sharing “war stories”) and thought I should get my tires rotated before I head down. It’s been 15,000 miles and I figured I was due. I went online to the store locator, get the number to my local store, and give them a call:
Les Schwab Rep: Thanks for calling Les Schwab, how can I help you?
Me: Hi, I was wondering how much you charge for a tire rotation.
LSR: Nothing. Just remember us when you need work done on your car.
[pause]
Me: Fair enough! When can I bring my car in and how long do you think it will take?
LSR:You can bring it in any time, it should take around 30 minutes.
[click]
Damn, they’re good. They’ll also fix slow leaks for free, as long as you “think of them the next time you need work done.” With customer service like that, I certainly will!
Happy Birthday Mom! March 22, 2007 8:13
Posted by Ted in family, home.add a comment
Today is my mother’s birthday, she’s, uh, 39. Again. For the 22nd time. 
Anyhoo, I just wanted to share my best wishes and love to the greatest mom a guy could ask for. Even when I was in my grumpy “I hate everyone” teenage years mom was one of my best friends and remains one of my best friends to this day. I can honestly say that I am who I am today because of her. She was always encouraging me to try harder and experience new things every day.
If I’m half the parent to Claire that mom was to me, Claire’s going to turn out great.
Happy birthday mom! I love you!
(Check out who else shares her birthday here. Dude, William F’ing Shatner! Awesome!)
Papa! Papa! Papa! March 18, 2007 11:35
Posted by Ted in claire, family, home.add a comment
My dad, AKA Papa, is coming into town today on his way down to Morro Bay to spend a week at the beach house we’ve got down there. Claire’s looking forward to seeing him, as are Jen and I. He’ll be here later this afternoon and , as my luck goes, I’ll probably get paged with a downed server about five minutes after he gets here…
We almost bought a Subaru Outback… March 6, 2007 11:51
Posted by Ted in home.2 comments
Jen tells me about this email she got from one of her Moms’ Club members where she and her husband were looking to sell their 2002 Subaru Outback with ~40K miles on it for $16,250. I should maybe preface this by saying that the Subaru Outback is pretty much my dream car. My buddy Kishore’s had one forever and that’s just added to my lust for the car.
It was Wintergreen (the color I’d want) with cream-colored leather interior and moonroofs, exactly as I’d want one, and for only $16,250, it’d be a steal.
I tell Jen to call her friend, we’ll work out how to pay for it, maybe take a chunk out of our mortgage? I don’t care, it must be ours!
By the time she actually gets a hold of her friend, it turns out that they chickened out and traded it in when they got their new mini-van.
DAMN!
MOJO! February 13, 2007 12:08
Posted by Ted in family, home.4 comments
More to come later, just keep that word in mind!
**UPDATE 2/14/07**
Here’s MOJO! (AKA Madeline Olivia Johnson) My brother and his wife Nan had their ultrasound yesterday (also Nan’s 30th b-day) and discovered that they’ll be having a beautiful little girl. Hooray!
Emergency Kit: Do You Have One? December 7, 2006 17:05
Posted by Ted in home, lifehack.3 comments
In light of the whole James Kim tragedy, I thought I’d check the emergency kit I keep in my car.
I have the following in my car for emergency purposes:
-Water Purification Tablets
-Silver Thermal Reflective Blanket
-Swiss Armk Knife with Fork and Spoon
-Pack of (Antiseptic) Alcohol and Iodine Wipes
-Sharper Image ToolLogic (Has a blade and a can/bottle opener in a credit card-sized form)
-3 12-inch Velcro Straps
-Various sized Adhesive Bandages
-Emergency Whistle (Maybe the most important thing here)
-Emergency Food Rations
-9 Four ounce emergency water packets
-2 One-Quart Plastic Zip-Top Bags
-AM/FM Radio with four AA Batteries
-2 Spare AA Batteries
-1 CYALUME 12-Hour Lightstick
-1 Mini MagLight with 2 AA Batteries
-1 Carabiner 150-pound load bearing
-1 Digital Watch
-1 Plastic Poncho
-1 Pair Spare Eyeglasses in Hard Case
-1 Fannypack-style pouch for holding the above
-1 Fleece BlanketTOTAL WEIGHT OF ABOVE: 7.5 lbs
I also need some items for my kit, including replacing the emergency food and water as they’ve recently expired:
-Waterproof Matches and/or Lighter
-Emergency Strobe Light
-Needle/Thread
-Collapsible Canteen
-Pre-Mixed Kool-Aid Packets (Quick supply of energy from the sugar and covers the taste of the Water Purification Tablets)
-Flint and Steel
So, what’s in your emergency kit? Do you even have one? If not, why not?
