The Amaro Family

Growing so fast!

2011-05-03T10:26:00.000-07:00

I just want her to stop growing! Not really, but she is starting to grow up, and she is not even nine months yet! Lily is very mobile, as she is crawling everywhere, reaching for things, pulling herself up into a standing position, and even cruising (walking while holding on to furniture)! I can't believe how fast it is all happening! OK, so that was a lot of exclaiming (!) but I am a still a new parent, and it is all new and exciting to me still.

Since I have been very sporadic in my blogging, I will update you by month:

5 months:

Lily was sitting up by this time, and rolling over, but still spending a lot of time on her back. She had started teething, but none had broken through yet. This meant that after I got used to her sleeping through the night, I got to go back to her waking me up every few hours.

We also started putting her in the nursery during first service (bible class time for children) and she went very well. I think since she didn't see us leave, and was distracted by all of the cool toys, she didn't realize we weren't there. So far, it has worked out for us. The first Sunday was very hard on us, especially Anthony. He is the more sentimental of the two of us, and so he had a hard time letting her go "grow up." Since then, he has been much better about it.

6 months:

Lily cut her first two teeth! She was also sitting up much more confidently, but not being much more mobile. She continued to not sleep through the night, much to my chagrin, but that is a small price to pay for such a sweet baby! I also started feeding Lily baby food more regularly. I discovered that she likes most vegetables and fruit with the exceptions of peas, green beans and peaches.

One day after church, a group of us went to Red Robin, and Anthony and I decided to feed her baby food instead of nursing her, which is a pain to do in public. The baby food I had put in the baby bag was peas. I quickly found out that Lily did not like them, and refused to eat them. To my regret, we force-fed her about ten spoonfuls of peas, before I couldn't take it anymore, and decided to nurse her anyway, instead of feeding her the rest of the peas.

After that, Lily was very cautious about what we were feeding her, to the point where she would not eat after a few spoons. I was very discouraged, especially after her initial success of eating baby food. After a few weeks of that, Anthony and I decided that we would stop feeding her baby food for a week, to get her to forget that she was cautious, so that she would return to eating well. To my relief, it worked! Anthony was a bit pessimistic that it would, but I convinced him to let me try it, and then if it did not work, we would just go back to feeding her like before. Thankfully, she is fairly compliant when it comes to eating, now.

7 months:

Lily cut her second two teeth in the first week. She started becoming more mobile, but not crawling. She would get on all fours, but couldn't quite coordinate which limbs to move at what time. She was still able to move around, in a kind of scooting, dragging, rolling way, but it was containable. I also found that she was able to sit up from a reclining position, i.e., when she fell over, she could get back up sometimes.

8 months:

CRAWLING!!!! Our Lily became mobile! We were at a friend's house celebrating one of their kids' birthday, and she just started crawling! It was cause for more celebration, and changed our priority on baby-proofing the house, which still isn't complete. Lily also has started pulling up on furniture, and standing for long periods of time (While holding on to furniture.) Once, she actually stood for half a second with no support, then fell on her tush. It really is a good thing that babies' behinds are so padded, but I guess that was God's design!

Leading up to 9 months:

We have started letting her walk while holding onto our hands. She is also tumbling a lot, which disallows me to accomplish much by way of housework, for fear I won't be there immediately if she needs help. I also tend to not let her in the kitchen, since she has a habit of putting her forehead on the floor, if she tires out, and tile is hard! She did that the other day, and she didn't breathe for a few seconds for crying so hard! It nearly broke my heart.

My predictions for the next two months: Since Lily has been pretty much on schedule concerning her mile stones, I think she will say her first word(s) in the next couple of weeks, and then start walking at 10 or 11 months. We will see if I am correct!

I will try to put some pictures up in a couple of days.

Where, oh, where has my Lily gone?

2011-01-25T12:55:00.000-08:00

So, I went on a two month blogging vacation. I hope this sates your curiosity of our precious Lillian.

Our little family... and Lily's first Christmas. I'm not sure what I thought this holiday would be like, seeing as Lily doesn't know enough to really do anything, but it did raise some questions as to future Christmases, such as what will we do about Santa Claus? Both Anthony and I grew up not believing in Santa Claus, but I think it is a fun tradition, that maybe we will incorporate into our own traditions.

We have been thinking a lot about traditions, and one that Anthony wants to do is eat seafood for Christmas. I am ok with that, but I think it will take a few years to get it right. :P

By the way, the photo above was the one I intended to use as our Christmas cards this year, so here is the official (if late) Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! to all who did not receive one from us.

Lily has become much more responsive, and playful. She laughs and coos, grabs our faces, and plays so well! She still likes being carried, and enjoys one on one time with her Mama and Papa.

Lily and Papa reading at our friend's family's house in Dimebox, Texas.

So, Lily started grabbing her hands a while back, which was so cute, and then she started grabbing everything else within her reach, including, but not limited to, toys, drinks, plates, the desitin container, Mama's chin, cheek, hair and glasses, etc.

I thought it funny that it looks like she has a halo around her in this picture...

This is Lily's first time eating. She has since eaten several times, but is still mostly on breastmilk. She does not seem to need anything in addition to my milk at this point, so I think until the doctor tells me I need to start feeding her something different, I will continue to solely nurse her.

Lily is getting so strong now! She is almost to the point of sitting up by herself, without falling over, and she is flipping over from her belly to her back. Sometimes it takes a while, and sometimes it takes a lot of crying, but she does it!

Go Horns! Papa and Lily supporting the UT Longhorns in their various ways.

We recently got a new appliance that we call "the Drool Machine." This is the Lily version, which is very efficient in the production of drool. I highly recommend this product.

I recently found a way for Lily to start enjoying her bathtime. I let her play in the water, while I bathe her! Novel idea, right? Well, to my credit, she only just recently has started sitting up like this.

Yesterday, she fell over while sitting up, and bonked her head, as I was not fast enough to catch her. Since I was in the middle of Mom 2 Mom, I quickly got up, so as not to disturb the other ladies in the room with Lily's loud crying. I went to the nearby bathroom, to show her the mirror, and had a brilliant idea! I turned on the faucet and let her play in the water stream. It distracted her from her crying immediately! after a couple of minutes, I dried her hands, and was able to take her back to Mom 2 Mom.

She is Mama's little Water Lily!

More of your favorite Lily

2010-11-25T19:52:00.001-08:00

Lily is such a big girl, holding her bottle by herself!

Playing with her cousin Sam.

Watching "Toy Story 3"

Chilling with Granny.

My brother Brad holding Lily.

Anthony holding Lily.

Enjoying her bumbo.

I will leave this to your imagination...

She fell asleep playing. Hard life, being a baby.

Lily being very sweet.

Lily being very cute. As always...

Can babies be sultry?

Come again?

Lily in a cute dress ready to sleep/cry/eat through church.

Sam's birthday cupcake...

Sam's birthday cake. He wore them both very nicely, but the second was more debonair.

New Lily Pics

2010-11-05T08:39:00.000-07:00

Video Time!!

Lily doesn't like being a ladybug.

Her first ride in the bouncer.

Hangin' out with Papa.

Papa playing with her, but not getting much response.

Lily is holding her head up so well!

We found she doesn't like pumpkins.

Emily Robertson enjoying a 'Dew.

Our friend Roki holding Lily at Mia's birthday party.

Lily enjoying her playmat, and being ever so cute!

We are so excited! Lily had started laughing! It is the sweetest thing you ever saw! We weren't able to get a video of that, but here is one of the next best thing!

Lily Cooing

Lily Pad

2010-10-11T14:20:00.000-07:00

Our precious girl is getting so big! She is now 13 lbs. 1 oz. as of October 7, and is 23.5 inches long, which puts her in the 90th percentile in both categories.

She is also smiling more, which is amazing! However, it is harder to get those snapshots, so we have more of her screaming than laughing!

Also, this girl knows how to pout! This isn't the best picture, but it is so adorable!

This past weekend Lily took her first road trip to Houston to visit family. It was so nice to have everyone together to celebrate our new daughter!

Lily just loves being the center of attention! Or rather everyone loves her being the center of attention...

Lily was also able to meet her cousin, Sam, for the first time this weekend! Sam seemed impressed, and Lily enjoyed his company, too.

Lillian Update

2010-09-30T08:20:00.000-07:00

We are just so blessed to have Lily in our lives! She is such a joy and a bright spot! To update: She has gained 3 pounds since birth, now weighing 10 lbs. 12 oz. She is getting so big!

She is also more alert and awake lately, as well as making eye contact. She enjoys playing with her little gym, too. She kicks her feet when she is excited or agitated. and she usually sleeps in a position that screams, "I give up! I surrender!"

She has also been slowly losing her hair, but only on the top and crown, so that it looks like she has a receding hairline!

Lily playing in her gym.

Anthony using his nose as a pacifier.

Anthony hanging out with our dependents.

Lily cuddling with her Mama.

Didn't work for the camera, lol!

Granny Sue and Aunt Becky Visit

2010-09-15T21:00:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend was a big one for the family, with a side trip to Lampasas, TX to boot! It is always good to have family in town no matter the occasion, but it certainly is nice to have a helping hand with a newborn. Lillian is now 5.5 weeks old, staying more and more alert during the day and gives us just one interruption in the middle of the night. We are also noticing a tendency towards having 'touch' be one of her love languages as she most times will not relax unless she is being held... then again it may be just her being a baby.

Today was funny as we discovered she really tends to relax when outdoors. This makes me excited because maybe she'll want to go camping/hiking/fishing/hunting with her old man. However I have yet to go hunting myself so i'll need to get going on that. But today she was particularly cranky so I took her in my arms and walked around the block, and as soon as I started down the steps of our house she quieted down immediately!! Perhaps it's the rocking motion of walking that she likes, but I'll take whatever I can get.

She is nursing well and is growing every day. It's amazing to see such a miracle. Ok, enough talk, lets get some photos.

Granny Sue and Lil Bit

Lillian Sr. and Lillian Jr.

This one's for you Marvin

2010-09-06T19:04:00.001-07:00

Lillian is certainly keeping us on our toes. Between waking up a few times during the night and screaming when the diaper needs to be changed, it's amazing how we love this little gift from the Lord.

We went to the pediatrician's office for her second checkup and everything checked out. It seems her jaundice has cleared up and everything is healthy. Papa figured out a way to keep her 'pacified' during the examination! Bring a bottle of breast milk or formula to the session, and when the doctor is ready to begin the examination, start feeding her! While eating, she was poked, prodded, stretched, and had blood taken from the heel, and only let out a whimper. What a trooper! If you have a little one, give it a try.

Lately she is expressing displeasure in varying vocal levels, meaning she's getting even louder! So far she has mama's hands, papa's feet, and we still don't know what color her eyes are. It seems to be blueish in tint, but it seems more grey than anything. But for now she's still a blob, but I think I caught her giving a smile... or maybe she was working on a diaper. Ok, more pics!

Lillian is Home

2010-08-11T08:53:00.000-07:00

Every three hours she eats. Day or night. Wow. And still what a blessing she is to us. Her birth is also evident of the power of the Lord's church. Shawn and Sarah being at the hospital the whole time (all 13 hours, and then some) running errands for us, helping in every way possible. We love you guys! All of the visitors and prayers for our family and for Lillian specifically. During the labor Tanya brings us her famous breakfast, which was so well appreciated. I taste a business opportunity there. Plus watching their girls with my girl just makes our hearts melt. How blessed we are!

Lets fast forward a bit

2010-08-07T19:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it all started the afternoon of August 6, 2010. Our friend Eric Brown asked me if I wanted to go play golf, and seeing as with the baby on the way it would be a while before I got to play a round of golf again, I took him up on the offer. We went to Riverside Golf course and played 16 holes (we ran out of daylight) and tied the score at the end. Afterwards, I went home tired and hungry, so when I got to the house, Shea's mom had announced that they were completely finished with the nursery. Then her mom told our daughter (in utero) that it was time to come out. Well sure enough the next hour, Shea woke me up and told me that her water had broken. It was ironic because every class and piece information we read stated that most moms have contractions before the water breaks. In Shea's case it was the opposite. We called the OB and she told us to head for the hospital. At this point it is around 11:30pm. Once we got to Labor and Delivery at St. Davids Medical Center here in downtown Austin, the contractions had started. At about 5 centimeters dilation, Shea requested the epidural, and that REALLY HELPED with the pain of contractions. At 12:40pm, Lillian Elaine Amaro was born into this world, already with a sweet disposition and even a sweet heart string tugging cry. We are all doing great and are allowing this event to sink into our hearts. We cannot express the appreciation for our friends and family that have been there for us; from the beginnings of our marriage, the hard times, the joyful times, Shea's pregnancy, and now the arrival of our daughter.

Enough sappiness, here are some initial pictures. We will post more as they come.

April FOOLS!

2010-04-01T12:34:00.001-07:00

No, not really. I can't make this stuff up. So we've had our "big" ultrasound, and ITS A GIRL!!!

Yep, our little girl. So here are some things I've been considering to get her to help her on her way to adulthood.

* Hard cover Bible, one that's too big for those bible covers that women like to use. None of this soft-leather small-print pink stuff.
* Book: C/C++ Trainer, for toddlers
* Fishing Pole, Tackle.
* .22LR, when she's ready.
* Another 12-gauge shotgun. One for ducks, another for any "friends that are boys"
* Book: Real-Time Operating Systems trainer, Elementary School Edition
* Book: Object Oriented Programming trainer, Intermediate School Edition
* Star Trek I,II,III,IV,V,VI,VII,VIII,IX,X,XI,XII,XIII
* No Star Trek Books... they aren't canon.
* Repair manual for a junky car that doesn't run and costs $500
* Junky car that doesn't run
* An amateur radio (HF, none of that sissy FM 2M or 70cm)
* Book: Linux for Infants
* This

Wow, parenting is going to be awesome.

March 12, 2010

2010-03-12T17:52:00.001-08:00

Yea, it's been a while..

Ok, so what's been going on? A LOT, however I'll hit on the big points.

1.) My grandfather is getting a little long in the tooth to be driving. So he gave me the family pick-up. AWESOME! 5.7L V-8 Engine. Extended Cab. Yes, because you are wondering, it has an air *siren*, in addition to the horn. 1990 Chevrolet Silverado. Here's a pic:

So you'd think a 20 year old car has a lot of miles. It does, 107,000!!! That's all! It runs great! Doesn't even leak oil! Super awesome. Coolest part about it is that it doesn't even fit in my garage, and has no head rests! Can we say WHIPLASH! So I've got a pick-up, and I've got guns. More about that on #3.

2.) We find out baby gender this month, close to the end. We'll be getting another ultrasound on that visit so we'll of course post the results when we get it! Shea is finally over the morning sickness part, and she even had a wee bout with a 24-hour stomach bug. What a trooper!

3.) Guns up! I have been accepted to the Texas Tech Graduate School for Software Engineering. I will be going for a masters through their distance education program. I'll be taking it slow, at one class a semester so I don't go insane. Even then the stress levels will be higher, but I figure it will be worth it in the end. There is a question now of who I will root for, since I got my undergrad at UT Austin. Even so, A&M will always get a boo from me (unless they are playing a non-Texas team, of course).

4.) Speaking of college teams, I sold the Camaro. Why?! And what does that have to do with college teams? Here's a pic:

Look at those cute girls in the hot car! You wouldn't think that their parents are Razorback fans. Oh, so the car, yeah I needed to sell it for two reasons. One was because we're saving money for a newer car for Shea, and because I'm forming a small used-car lot here. We will sell another car soon, and use the proceeds from the two car sales to get Shea a good car for her and the baby. For a while though, we had four cars for a two person family. Boo on us.

5.) It has started.

The influx of baby toys, cribs, high chairs, car seats, play tents, blocks, noise makers, baby electronic things. Yes, the invasion is happening. And we haven't even gotten to the baby shower yet. It's awesome though, and I love the box on top. Woot! FTW!

6.) This is our cat. This is our cat on pot.

Any questions?

0.) Overall, we are really blessed to have friends and family that love us so much. We are so looking forward to meeting our child and the beginning of its new life. We've already got an edge, however, since we've now got a breast pump.

GUESS WHAT!

2009-12-31T09:24:00.000-08:00

Our pumpkin at six weeks

Our pumpkin at eight weeks - 2 centimeters tall!

Yep, you guessed it! Our little guy is coming! We've had two ultrasounds so far, shown here. Also, his gender cannot be determined at this age, that will have to wait til later. However I did want to post the first bit of parenting advice I was given that will forever remain in my memory.

1: You are having a boy. Anyone who says otherwise is incredibly wrong. Sorry for the girl/boy confusion you must be receiving from the morning-sickness-indications.

2: There is no reliable way to tell whether you are having a boy or girl until 20 weeks.
3: Don't believe/encourage people who tell you what you are having.
4: Congratulations on your boy!
5: He will probably want a gun for his third birthday -- just make sure it's like darts or something; stay away from buckshot until he's at least 7.
6: Allow nature to determine which side his part is on. There should be evidence of nature's choice based on his swirly cow-lick.

November 28, 2009

2009-11-28T19:47:00.000-08:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Ok so a quick recap. A lot has happened since I last posted; which is probably a good thing since I have a tendency to ramble on with useless details. I went hunting for the first time. It's an awesome time in Texas when you've got good friends (Matt, Grant, and James and his beautiful daughter Lena), camping outdoors with guns to boot. I forgot my camera but I remembered my cell phone and got a great picture of our hunting prowess. With three guys and more than enough guns to go around, it is expected that we'd have such an awesome catch!

Matt and his trophy Squirrel

Yeah, all we got was a squirrel. No joke. I saw one deer and took a shot, but I wasn't even close. There is a story I have about duck hunting, but it's rather embarrassing so you'll have to ask me in person. Lets just say that duck is half way to Abilene by now. But it makes me feel better that Matt had to use a 12 gauge shotgun to get his squirrel. But overall the experience was awesome. I got to lend a hand out on the farm and unraveled barbed wire and cleaned up felled tree limbs. Slept out under the stars next to the camp fire and within about 100 yards of Coyotes. I had a blast! Hanging out with Grant always makes me want to explore Texas life.

Ok what else? I *love* Castrol GTX motor oil. It's a few dollars cheaper to change the oil in the cars myself using good oil, than to pay someone else to do it with cheep oil. It's nice that at every 3000 miles, the old oil in the car is a nice amber yellow, not pitch black burnt.

We spent this Thanksgiving week on our own this year. We were going to do touristy things in Austin, but basically that gave way to going out to eat ( or getting take out ) and playing computer games. To our credit, we went to Andiamo's and to the Clay Pit. We will eventually make it to the Oasis. We both needed the time to ourselves and also time to relax and not think about much else that life tends to throw at us.

For Turkey day itself though, we spent at the Robertsons with their family. Oh wait, let me back track.

So last weekend we went to Houston to attend a baby shower for my brother-in-law's wife's pregnancy. I will refer to her as Katie. I guess she's my sister in law-in law, or my sister in law once removed? Well whatever she is, turns out that the doctors were off on their due date by five weeks. So when we were literally on our way into town to attend this shower, we got a call from Shea's mom that Katie is now in labor. CRAZY! So we went for a party, and stayed for the birth of our nephew Samuel August Richey. I wish I was thinking and took photos with my phone. Hopefully we'll get pictures soon. They're on facebook, but I avoid the book of face so i'll see if I can con Shea's sister in sending us photos.

So that was awesome, but then we come home and find out that Tanya Robertson is also in labor. So the next day we see them and their little girl Emily Ashlyn. Their girls are like nieces to us, so naturally I forgot to take photos. So does pregnancy prevent Tanya from having Thanksgiving dinner at their place? Nope.

So Grant, Simon and I cooked us some sirloin steaks for Thanksgiving. Did I take pictures? nope. Seems the important things in life aren't so important that I remember to take photos! argh! I promise to do better.

So another car tip, if the power steering pump is making whiny noises when you're stopped or going slow, it may be because you're running low on power steering fluid! Go figure. Yes there may be indication of a leak, but I'll look into that later.

Shea is really looking forward to decorating the house for Christmas this year. We moved in last year so close to the holiday that we didn't get to do anything, but this year it's Shea's show. Hopefully we don't end up like the Griswolds Family Christmas when the house lights are turned on.

So this will be my version of the Grant ADD post.

Family Log - October 25, 2009

2009-10-24T22:38:00.000-07:00

First off, I must say it certainly is easier writing a blog entry when you don't have to think of a creative title! Great for me, not tso great for our readers. Here are the stories:

Shea and I decided to attend the UT vs Oklahoma tailgate party being held at our neighborhood Frost bank (Mueller Location). We didn't really know many people there, except for the branch manager who attends our church. They held a drawing where you could guess the half-time score and the top six people to get closest to the score would win "bleacher seats", which basically

provide back support when going to a bleacher game. I got first place, because I got the score DEAD ON, and Shea got third place. We then walked home with our new bleacher seats!!

Afterwards we decided to go to the shooting range. Shea shot all of our firearms, and we had a lot of fun! We ended up spending three hours at the range where we learned that Shea is a great shot! She didn't quite like the 9mm because the pistol felt too big in her hand.. it was rather awkward. The 270 she was a good shot however it had so much kick it gave her a bruise! We'll have to get her a shoulder pad for next time! We also threw some clay pigeons and we both were able to hit them with the shotgun. Now that's fun!! Plus shotgun ammo is cheap, compared to rifle ammo. So my advice is to be nice to Shea.

Shooting the .17 HMR

Shooting the .270 deer rifle.

9mm Semi-Auto

12 gauge shotgun

Family Log - October 15, 2009

2009-10-15T19:50:00.000-07:00

Sure has been a while for an update! Shea and I sent to the UT v Colorado game here, and it was a blast! I thought ahead and parked the car in residential parking on campus around noonish on gameday, and then we took the bus to campus. After the game was over (we totally won), we walked for 2 minutes to the car, and then drove 5 minutes back home! AWESOME!

Shea and I in full burnt orange!

This was our first UT game ever, especially notable since I graduated from there (Fall '06). We got free tickets from my boss and he took full advantage. It sure was a lot of fun. Seeing so many UT fans in the stands really made for an awesome feel in the stadium. It was chilly, but I am told that it is considered "awesome football weather". Also, for anyone looking for something free to do here in Austin, consider going downtown during one of the football games and attending one of the many tailgate parties. First off, people give away free stuff there all the time, as well as free food! Most of the time there are people with televisions with the game on, and it's quite teh awesome.

Otherwise, life is pretty quiet here. I've been working a lot of hours due to a major project for work. Shea is still working, and hopefully this Thanksgiving/Christmas we'll get to relax and chill out. Other plans for our future include a new back door. We've got a full glass door which is pretty nice, however it leaves no room for a cat door. Yes, we are getting a new door for the cats. Never have I thought I'd like cats enough to spend real money on them, but look what's happened to me. *Sigh*

We're also slowly learning how to play bridge. There's a little bit of Anthony randomness there for ya! We're having our neighbors over for cards tomorrow,.. maybe we'll get them to learn with us!

I've got an opportunity to go turkey hunting next month with my good friend Grant. We've both passed the hunters education course mandated by the state of Texas, however in the off chance that we actually are successful, I'm wondering what comes next. I've grown up fishing and have done so for most of my life, and have cleaned many a fish (including Walleye!), but I've never tackled a land animal before. We'll see! I also hope I will get a chance to go deer hunting this season. My arsenal (LITERALLY!) so far includes:

Harrington & Richardson .17HMR Rifle w/Scope - Varmint

Weatherby Vanguard Sporter .270 Win w/Scope - Deer

Springfield XDm 9mm - travelling to/through rough parts of Houston

and the latest addition that I just got today:

Remington 12 ga 870 Express Shotgun - Fowl

It's interesting, I still maintain the same sporting values for fishing as I do for hunting. I will not shoot any animal that I don't intend to eat. However, as Sam pointed out to me earlier, there is no catch and release in hunting! So better make each shot count. I hope I can stomach the cleaning of game, otherwise I'm in trouble!

So why don't I like to fly? It feels like I am riding a roller coaster. I cannot abide roller coasters.

Alright alright alright

2009-09-01T15:42:00.000-07:00

Blogging is hard. So hard in fact that I haven't done it in a few months. But due to popular demand, I'll try again. So to jump start the blog, I'm going to have to go fishing soon, since all I did for a while was post pictures of fishing. Also, since I have to go run errands soon, I don't have much time to make a blog entry that makes any coherent sense.

So short term, what's going on in our lives? Star Trek TNG. We got the entire series (all 7 seasons) and I have fallen into a kind of 'Star Trek' coma where I come home from work, we watch star trek, eat something, then go to bed. Rinse, wash, repeat. It is as awesome as I imagined.

I was recommended this link for funny and educational Star Trek humor. Thanks Beth!

http://www.sitelogicmarketing.com/blog/02-analytics-according-to-captain-kirk

By the way, I really don't like flying.

Stay tuned to this blog to find out why I made such a random statement. (Assuming there is a reason).

Gall Bladder takes a hit!

2009-02-26T22:53:00.001-08:00

One fateful night, February 13, 2009, I had a chicken fried steak to end all chicken fried steaks. It was a good steak, but it later became my undoing.

In *some* people, gall stones form from crystallized bile that has spent way too much time in the gall bladder. My surgeon described the stones as "dirt clumps", to give you a visual indication. Well, these gall stones will tend to get stuck in the bile duct, causing inflammation and pain. Symptoms include localized pain in the stomach area, and vomiting. I've been having these attacks every time I ate something particularly fatty or greasy, and usually at night. Being the kind of person I am (not wanting to see a doctor), I self-diagnosed myself with gas.

For the past couple of years, I have been suffering from what I thought was gas, but they were really gall stone attacks. In response, I've been popping Gas-X like crazy. Sometimes they worked, sometimes not. Well my surgeon tells me that during previous 'attacks', I was actually passing the stones. So I would eventually get relief that I attributed to the Gas-X.

Then came the chicken fried steak. The following morning around 2 AM, I awoke with the same pains as before, except they were exceptionally worse in magnitude. I vomited twice before I finally decided I could not take it anymore and went to the emergency room of St. David's Hospital here in Austin, TX. In triage, I threw up a third time right in front of the nurse, and she said, "Oh... I bet it's the gall bladder."

So when they admitted me, put me on an IV and gave me two doses of morphine, I finally calmed down. They ran an ultrasound (yes moms, I too know about that weirdo gooey feeling), and after stabbing me with the stupid ultrasound wand that hurt like a Klingon pain stik, I was debriefed by the nurse. I was informed that most patients are released and I would need to schedule an appointment with a general surgeon to have the gall bladder removed. Just as she was explaining all of this, the staff physician busted in to the room and exclaimed, "do not discharge! This man needs emergency surgery."

I felt like I was in a television show. Poor Shea got a little freaked out, and started making phone calls. Keep in mind we're now clocked in at 5am. Sam and Sarah Brown came and hung out with us at the ER. Or maybe they came earlier... I don't remember anymore. Them being there really felt like Ecclesiastes 4:10 in action. The general surgeon was called in and at around 9am I was wheeled into surgery.

They told me that they were going to give me an antibiotic for the operation, so I closed my eyes to prepare for the IV port being tapped. I opened them back up, and all of a sudden I was in a different room, my throat hurt, my stomach hurt, and I was really out of it. I asked the attending nurse what had happened, and she told me it was over! I was wheeled to my room for an overnight stay and recovery. Many good friends, and my family came to see me. The next day I was able to take limited walks and eat a little solid food, and was discharged in the afternoon.

So what's life like without a gall bladder? Not much different so far. During my recovery I had a difficult time managing the bathroom, and also my appetite was very limited. But after that first week, I pretty much went back to my "old star trekkie self", as a good friend so eloquently put it. However the best part of this whole ordeal was knowing that a whole host of people who love and care about us were praying for us to make it through. Praise God!

Now for a lighter side-

Towards the end of my recovery week, I was getting much better so I went that weekend to the shooting range with Grant Maloney and shot his .50 cal muzzle loader (cannon, more like). Not too long later, I went to the Saxet Gun Show, and then went to the shooting range again with Grant, James, and Shawn. I got a P90, .280, and 223 WSM. Talk about loads of fun!

So yesterday, at McBride's Guns, I found my rifle. The Weatherby Vanguard Sporter, .270 caliber. I bought it used, in new condition for almost half of the MSRP. Here she is:

Since I have not had any experience hunting, I am going to take the hunter safety course, and gun safety course offered by the state of Texas. I plan to:

Learn to shoot the rifle accurately
Get a scope (see #1)
Get my hunting license
Eat Venison this holiday season.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So one last tidbit. If you're not into software programming, then you can ignore this section. The guys at work were attempting to classify the operation in an object oriented fashion, and this is what we came up with.

There was an object of type 'GBladd' that is a child class (singleton) of the 'Organ' class.
The GBladd object went out of scope, so the object was marked for deletion.
The garbage collector eventually ran and successfully ran the destructor for the object.
The GBladd object had a member pointer (gStonePtr) to a collection of objects of type 'GStones'.
The 'Organ' class is an abstract class.

Oh, we're such nerds!

The Merging

2009-02-10T18:34:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the late posting. So quick update: We moved! WE LOVE IT HERE, and I'll have to post pictures later. So what was it that could cure my laziness and get me started back blogging again?

I made quite an interesting discovery. My two favorite series of movies have come together. Everyone who knows me knows that I generally am hesitant to watch a movie unless it has some connection to Star Wars, Star Trek, or Peter Jacksons Lord of the Rings. Of course, there are exceptions. I was going over the cast for the upcoming Star Trek XI film, and I discovered that Karl Urban will be playing the role of Dr. McCoy.

If you were in need of medical attention, who would you choose?

So why is that significant? Karl Urban also played the role of Eomer in Lord of the Rings. When this knowledge entered into my brain, I went from 'wanting to see ST XI on opening night' to 'must see ST XI on opening night'. The merging of two of my favorite movies. Wow.

In related news, Grant, Nick, Shawn and myself went camping and fishing, here. It was awesome, and Grant caught a fish, 'worthy of remembrance'.

We're PACKING

2008-11-11T16:35:00.000-08:00

Oh man, how I forgot how painful it is to pack. It seems like we just got here and finally unpacked!

The state of our home.

We've got a closing date!!!

2008-11-06T16:48:00.000-08:00

11/24/2008 is our scheduled closing date for the new house! We are awaiting final approval from our lender, but as some people have counseled, no news is good news.

Now comes the hard part... logistics. So we've got to pack and move again. It seems we just got settled from the last move we made six months ago. The 24th is the week of Thanksgiving, and we gave notice to our apartment complex (before we knew our closing date) that we would be out by the 30th. So we would have to be completely moved-in and have our old place cleaned out by Wednesday to be able to drive to Houston that evening for Thursday Thanksgiving.

It sounds doable... moving completely out of an apartment with cleaning and everything in 2.5 days. But our new house does not come with a refrigerator, so we'll need to get one. Plus I feel like I can't order any appliances until after we close on the house. I also don't want to make a major purchase like that until after we close because we don't want to spook our lender. If the closing date gets pushed back due to construction hangups or the like, and the refrigerator gets delivered before we close then we're in trouble!

So here's the tentative schedule:

11/24: Close, order fridge and move stuff over
11/25: Move stuff over
11/26: Move stuff over, maybe clean, drive to Houston
...Thanksgiving - lots to be thankful for...
11/29: Come back, clean out old apartment

Well even with all my worries, I know who's really in control.

The Inside

2008-11-01T19:01:00.000-07:00

Today we were able to get the key to go inside and take some pictures! We're going to have to go back and take some measurements for appliances and the like, but it does not look like there will be any potential problems.We pre-qualified for the loan, and our loan officer told us that there was a good chance that the financing will work out. In the mean time we've been on autopilot regarding the house. Most people in our situation start thinking about decoration and interior design, however I am so concentrated on getting the house, the last thing I'm concerned about is color scheme. Next week we will get a "closing schedule" which will detail our walk through and an estimated closing schedule with the lender. How exciting!

Dining Area

Kitchen

Gas Stove!!!

Cool Water Faucet!

The Inside - II

2008-11-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

Master Bathroom

Garden TUB!!!!!

Standing/Sitting Shower

The Kitchen Again

The Inside - Part III

2008-11-01T18:58:00.001-07:00

The Living Area

1/2 Bath

A look up the stairs

A look down the stairs

The Inside - Part IV

2008-11-01T18:57:00.000-07:00

Guest Bathroom

Inside Guest Bedroom

Inside Guest Bedroom Again!

My Garage!

Mueller

2008-10-28T04:35:00.000-07:00

So a whirlwind of events in the past 24 hours has been going on. One of the most favorite sayings of my family is, "When an opportunity comes along, you have to be ready to 'make a move'". And that, we did. Let's start from the very beginning. A very good place to start....

Yesterday morning I called my apartment complex to see what the rules were regarding breaking a lease for purchasing a home. While they did not have any specific clause for home buyers, they did have a 60-day notice addendum, allowing us to break our lease, after some largish fees, for any reason.

Thinking that was pretty convenient, I decided to call Meritage Homes at Mueller to see if there were any available homes for sale in our price range. We had inquired earlier about home availability, and were told that there would not be any homes ready until May of 2009. But yesterday, someone who had signed up to have a house built in the last phase fell through on their contract, and when I called, they told me that if we came in before a certian time, and put down earnest money, then the house could be ours!

After calling Shea to move around funds in our bank accounts, I high-tailed it as fast as speed limit would allow down to the Mueller Redevelopment. I met Dan Arnot from Meritage and he walked me through the house, and I LOVED IT! Shea arrived later, and without me having to say a word, she loved it too, including the color of the house. We promptly put down our earnest money check, and celebbrated with our good friends Tanya & Wilson Robertson with a good dinner and great fellowship.

So today at 5pm, Shea and I have an appointment with Meritage to actually sign the contract paperwork. This is our first home purchase, and we are way excited!

Here are some pictures to get us started. I was not able to take any pictures of the inside, but hopefully I will be able to today, and will post accordingly.

Mueller Lake Park, one of many!

Movies in the park!

Mueller Lake Park!

The house!

The garage! I have plans for this area

Side of house, detached garage

Covered patio / breezeway

Our backyard! Won't need a huge lawnmower for this one. Great gardening opportunities!

Soon to be home...

The house is still in construction, but the final inspections should be taking place in the next few weeks, and the builder will want to close within 30 days. It is very likely that we will be closing on the house before Thanksgiving. It has not sunk in yet, however I figure it will sink in as I continue to write more checks. :)

For those of you guys who know, this house has been the answer to many prayers.

Try, because you never know...

2008-10-07T20:29:00.000-07:00

There are plenty of situations in our lives when we decide it is not worthy of our time or patience to be involved in a persons life. A decision to act in someones life, or even in our own, is usually motivated by an expected return of investment that action will produce.

We've all been there before. Whether it was the bully in the elementary school yard (or parking lot, in my case), a coworker who has aspirations to be your boss, or even a parent who got the rear end of a divorce, we all make decisions on how much of ourselves we are willing to invest in others. Why should we invest ourselves in a parent who is never there? Why should we try to be friends with that coworker who has it out to make themselves look good, at the expense of our reputation? Why should I try to be friendly with the kid at school who punched me in the gut last week?

So as I think about these questions (and come up with really good answers to my own questions), I notice how little I really know about these people that I've so quickly written off as a bad investment of my time and attention. It's pretty obvious that bullies aren't born, they're made. While the bully example may be elementary (pun intended), it's an example of how I've learned not to be concerned about why this kid is acting out against me (and my stomach). Interestingly enough, I've taken those school yard lessons and applied it in my adult life and my sphere of influence.

What's so bad about that? It seems the danger lies in where these decision making processes will take us as we mature. No longer do we simply avoid those who cause us hurt in favor of anyone else who doesn't. Now we attempt to gain a return on our relationship investment. We start reaching out to others whom we know will benefit us in the future, at the expense of someone who would simply be a drain on our time or emotions. Getting a positive return on my investment. This, in my opinion, is the basis for how a clique is formed, but I digress.

I think it's important to make the distinction in our lives that our investments in relationships should not be governed by our financial decision making processes. While instinctively it makes sense that we shouldn't 'waste our time' with someone we 'know' is not going to appreciate or respond positively, I suggest that we take a different point of view towards our relationships. Sometimes reaching out to someone that may not be your first choice in friends can yield life changing results; not so much in whom we reach out to, but mostly in ourselves. I think we should try and dig a little deeper with people that haven't 'made the cut' in our relationship investment portfolio, and see what we discover. Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty.

By doing this, we will be establishing value in those persons who may not respond in kind to us. It's making an investment in a risky relationship for which the probability of reward is very low, and if there is some gain, most likely someone else will cash in on it. So now we come to it. By investing in "the least of these", someone else further along in time will benefit from the seeds of worth that were sown by us, for which we will receive no earthly reward.

On second thought, perhaps one day, we will realize a small dividend from an investment made a long time ago, in a schoolyard far far away.

Starting New Traditions

2008-06-16T19:47:00.000-07:00

So it occurred to me that if I wanted to create a family tradition, there is no better way than to include your spouse in the fun! Today, Shea and I went out to Mills pond here in Wells Branch to get in some fishing. What is amazing is that Shea had never caught a fish... until today.

She initially went with me just to hang out and enjoy the view, but an hour or so in, I had hooked a bass. I wanted Shea to experience the fun, so I gave her the pole and she reeled him in. Well another hour or so afterwards...

She caught another one, completely on her own! According to her, she first thought she got her lure stuck on a log, until she realized that the log was pulling back! "No way!" she thought, and she reeled in the 12.5" bass. Just goes to show that the Amaro family has what it takes to reel in the big ones.

So I extend a large amount of gratitude towards catch-and-release policies. Today, Shea caught her first ever fish, and it was a big one because thoughtful anglers decided to forgo the precious meat on these guys so that the next person would get the excitement of catching a large fish. So hopefully a new family tradition is starting... catching the big ones.

One day at a time

2008-06-07T18:58:00.001-07:00

Well it's been several months since I've put in our last blog entry. I will admit that I have been thinking about putting up a blog post for a long while now, but the guilt, and laziness of not having blogged in forever kept me from wanting to write another post. So much has happened in the last couple of months that I thought I'd be writing a novel that no one would read, so why bother?

Well like most things in life that require discipline, sometimes you have to start over again. Never give up, never surrender.

Today I decided to take Shea and go fishing out at Mills pond. It's a 'catch-and-release' pond, meaning no one is allowed to take any fish home to cook on the grill. The larger benefit to places like this is that the fish are generally allowed to live longer and grow bigger, meaning the fishing experience will be better as time goes on. Bigger fish generally mean bigger fight, and much more exciting of a fishing experience. Take this big guy I caught this evening out at Mills Pond for instance.

And they say there's no fish in Mills Pond

This past week, my parents came to Austin with Julian, my little brother, and he caught his first fish out at Lago Vista. 14" catfish, 1 lb. It's amazing how awesome it is to see the look on a kids face when they catch their first fish. We neglected to bring a camera, however this will not be the last time he will go 'catching'. We're all very proud of him.

Here's a little bit of what has been happening with us these past few months:

Shea had her three month review at work, and she now is a full-time permanent employee, salaried with benefits! She got great praise on the quality of her work and her dedication. Just another testament on how awesome Shea is!
We moved to Wells Branch, a neighborhood in North Austin. It's awesome here, and we are within walking distance to Katherine Fleisher Park, and Mills Pond. We're both equidistant from our respective places of employment.
I got rid of the Firebird. Too much money and time. I gave it to my step-dad. On to better things.
I started reading the newspaper. Seriously. I'm 28 going on 50.

First Potluck

2008-04-11T04:57:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we had a potluck lunch at our apartment, and it was pretty awesome! I made chili and rice, while other people brought sides. Lots of fun, and we got a chance to catch up with some great friends! It was the first time we decided to brave a group of people in our home, especially in this apartment. The event was a success, and we should have done this a long time ago. Between Shea going to Germany, our A/C dying and coming back to life, college, graduation, and various other events, I'm glad we got to take a breather and have lunch with some great folks.

We're thinking this will not be the last time we host one of these potlucks. On the next potluck, perhaps we will be able to catch the main course! Shawn and I went fishing yesterday at Brushy Creek, and we landed some nice fish!

The big one was about 14", and the small one was barely at 10", the legal limit. We cooked them up last night, with some rice and ice cream for dessert. There's something really special about being able to catch your own dinner, and these sizable fish had enough meat on them to feed four people. With little small guys like these, you lose a lot of the meat by filet, so we baked them up with the bones and all. The meat was so fresh and tender, they melted right off. We were left with a fish skeleton of the likes from looney tunes!

More Fish!

2008-04-02T19:07:00.000-07:00

I went fishing at Brushy Creek Lake Park yesterday and today. No keepers. But loads of fun nonetheless!

Where I fished: N 30° 30' 20.7" W 97° 46' 19.0"

I caught this little guy yesterday.

I caught this guy today, around 6pm.

This big guy measured 14 inches! If he were caught anywhere but Brushy Creek, he would have been a keeper. However Texas Parks and Wildlife have an 18 inch minimum for fish out of Brushy Creek. Well, I hope this becomes a kid's first catch, or dinner for someone later!

With this lure, THE FISH FIND YOU!

2008-03-25T06:05:00.000-07:00

Wow! What fun! Myself, Grant, Sam, Shawn, and Nick all went fishing down by the river just off of Lake Georgetown, at Camp Tejas. The first few hours we got nothing much except for a few nibbles, except for Shawn catching Bass using the cast net (don't worry, we threw them back). We then moved upstream just before sundown, and that's when they started biting! What's amazing is that before yesterday, I had never had any luck using artifical lures. But all the fish I caught was with the Rapala F-05 Original "Floating Minnow" Lure.

For those of you who are interested, here are the GPS coorinates. You can copy and paste these coordinates into Google Maps and it will show you exactly where we were. Make sure you select "Terrain" when you click on these links. Or better yet, just copy and paste in Google Earth!

Where we parked: N 30° 41' 46.4" W 97° 49' 40.4"

Where we fished: N 30° 41' 52.5" W 97° 49' 21.5"

Now it's picture time!

I brought my "dont care if I drown it" camera, which doesn't have the best resolution. However from the picture it seems that this is a fuzzy picture of big foot telling us there is hope for fish here!

Fish #1

Fish #2

Fish #3.. You'll notice it's almost as tall as Nick!

Fish #4.. the fish is biting back!

Fish #5... Still can't believe it was caught on a wooden lure!

Last but not least - Fish #6

Cooking fish on an open fire. Yum! Can't get much more fresh than that!

Learning what NOT to do

2008-03-20T15:53:00.000-07:00

So it seems that I learn things best the hard way. Here is my latest installment of "things Anthony did which weren't such a good idea"

Do not bring 8 bottles of water on a 16 mile hiking trip around a lake, that is filled with water (as opposed to a lake that is filled with liquid methane).

My feet still have their gargantuan blisters, two per foot. I really wasn't all that winded or tired as the hike continued, however my feet were killing me at mile 8, dead at mile 10, and were undead at mile 16. Then again, perhaps wearing Doc Marten boots on a 16 mile hike isn't a good idea either.

However the camping was so much fun, and i'd do it again, provided I had better footwear. I also realized that I brought way too much food, and I shouldn't have brought a stove when there was no fireban. I also learned that a good water filter, and boiling lake water pretty much filters/kills whatever is crawling around in there, and is safe for drinking. I didn't bring my camera, so no pics this time!

Items for Camping

2008-03-11T20:42:00.000-07:00

This weekend is another hiking trip, and this time we'll see some new faces! And we'll be missing some old ones (Joe, you will be missed).

I was asked what items should be brought, and thinking about it, I realized that as a group, we may or may not have everything that would be required for an overnight (or two night) hiking trip. I'm pretty sure Grant has everything under the sun with regards to hiking and camping, however I decided to come up with my own list in the event I ever decide to break out on my own. If there's anything I forgot (or don't really need) please feel free to comment and correct me in the error of my ways. Btw, the pic is the new stove I just got, we'll see how it fares this weekend.

What I have packed:

Backpack

Camp soap

Scrubby pad

Small radio / cards

Flashlight

Instant Coffee

Spare Batteries

Sugar & Spices

Gatorade / Propel (electrolytes)

Mess kit

Multi-tool

Small Tent

Sleeping Bag

Ibuprofen (headache, fever reducer)

Melatonin (sleep aid, a vitamin)

Benadryl for the allergen impared

Bug spray

Notepad / Pencil

Trusty mug

Fire starter / waterproof matches

Knife, Fork, Spoon

Cooking stove

What I still need to pack:

Food (canned will usually work)

Loose fitting long sleeve shirt (non-cotton if possible)

Expensive polyester pants, or just cotton jeans.

Bottled water (might need water filter for more than 2 days hiking)

Sleeping Mat

Spare undergarments

Spare t-shirt (non-cotton if possible)

Non-cotton socks (and an extra pair)

Rain wear (poncho or running outfits)

Nalgene bottle w/water

Stocking cap

Deodorant

Trail mix, power bars

Fuel Canister

Tooth brush / tooth paste

Personal towel

Toilet paper

Thermal Underwear

What would be nice to have:

Sensitive GPS

Titanium Shovel, foldable

Small Pillow

Coffee Creamer

Hat that covers sun down the back of the neck

Fleece sweater

Gaming Mouse

2008-03-08T14:33:00.000-08:00

So our trusty mouse went the way of the Dodo. As I was figuring out what to replace it with, Shea comes up and suggests that we get a "gaming mouse". Much to my surprise, I realized that she actually plays more comptuer games than I do, and would benefit from a 2000 dpi laser mouse. So I went out and got the Logitech G3 mouse. My favorite feature of this mouse is:

"DryGrip technology: No more tired, sweaty hands with the G3’s ultra-light design and DryGrip technology"

So that's why I get shot down in Counter-Strike, get killed by Murlocs in WoW, crash my 747 in MS Flight Simulator, and why I won't even attempt games like Halo. It was all about sweaty palms. Thank you Logitech.

So when the wife wants a gaming mouse, I deliver. Secrets to a long and happy marriage. :)

A shout out to all our buddies having babies! It's so awesome to see such happiness among the best of us.

Wow... it's been a while

2008-03-05T20:26:00.000-08:00

As I was logging in to start my first post in a looong while, I realized that I already violated one of my two resolutions. However I have started excercising, and after getting sick with the flu that was going around, I'm starting back up!

One thing I realized is that blogging is hard. So instead of trying to tell stories about what's going on, i'm going to just list it out. Just the facts.

I went backpacking at Lake Georgetown with Dave, Joe, and Grant. It was loads of fun, and it was a cold night. The guys toughed it out and proved more awesome than I am :) regarding sleeping in the cold, and rock tossing contests. Overall it was AWESOME! We're going on a two-day hiking/camping trip (again to Lake Georgetown) this weekend, so if any of you guys want to come along, the more the merrier!

So an update since last post. Shea is working as a CAD technician for a residental/commercial architecture firm based out of Round Rock. She is so happy as she is doing exactly what she's wanted to do, and i'm happy since we're now dual-income. Next step, saving for a house (or garage, from my point of view). I am still working, so that's always good.

So a tip for maintaining a blog... do not use up all your material in one post. I've got more, so stay tuned!

It's been a while...

2008-01-09T18:46:00.000-08:00

We made it back safe and sound. In fact, we made it back almost two weeks ago! So what are my new years resolutions?

1.) Get into an exercise regimen
2.) Blog more regularly

Since my memory isn't what it used to be, I'm going to start the now and work my way back into the past. So strap yourselves in!

Hurray for Baby Pollard! aka Ryan Pollard! We are so glad for the Pollards and their new blessing! You can check them out at their blog: The World According to Kim .

So i'm going to give the Firebird another try at getting it inspected. Interestingly enough, if a car was registered in a Texas county that has emissions controls for inspections, I do not have to have it inspected in order to get it registered in Williamson (or Travis) county. However if the car was last registered in a non-emissions county, it will need a current inspection report before it can be registered. So bear that in mind if you ever decide to purchase a car (or sell) privately.

To do so, I will need to have an updated drivers license. It's been six months and we still haven't changed the address on my license, so i'll need to get on the ball with that (and pay any late fees that may apply). But to do that, I need to go in person, since my license is up for renewal anyway this year. And that means I'll need to take an eye test, which I'm sure i'll fail. My eyesight has deteriorated since I last took the exam, so I'll need to get glasses (I lost my last pair). And since it's been about 3 years since I last had glasses, I'll need a prescription, so to the optometrist for me!

To get car registered:
Step 1) Get optometrist prescription
Step 2) Get Glasses
Step 3) Renew DL
Step 4) Register FB
Step 5) ???????????
Step 6) PROFIT!

That's not even getting the dumb thing inspected. *sigh*. At least soon it will be legally in my name.

So about Max. He was roughhousing with his buddy Sylvester and ended up with a scratched eye. I had to take him into the Emergency Animal Hospital, and we had to give him eye drops, an antibiotic pill, and have him wear a collar to keep him from scratching his eye. Afterwards, he was so upset at us for the collar, that one day when the Crofts came over, he went over and specifically cuddled with them, and giving us the cold shoulder. While funny it was, it was a clear signal to us that he was *not* a happy camper.

So to change the subject, I have started an exercise regimen. I've gotten a heart rate monitor and am jogging within my optimal "Weight Management" zone. What this causes me to do is to jog enough to where my heart rate is below the minimum weight loss heart rate for my age, but not jog so much that I my heart rate goes past my maximum rate. This has caused my workouts to be longer, more productive, and I feel great! Jogging isn't as hard as I made it on myself in the past. I've been running since the 4th of January, so we'll see if I can keep it up!

Pains in my shins (not bad really) are causing me to ditch my 3 year old pair of (completely worn out) tennis shoes in exchange for something a little more modern. I'm sure I'll post about it later. Our friend Kevin L. also suggested running at a local high school, where they have the padded tracks to reduce the shock on my legs.

So that's what's going on in our lives to date. Not much about Shea... she's enjoying life right now, curled up with a good book.

Christmas 2007

2007-12-27T16:28:00.001-08:00

Christmas this year is at Houston, with Shea's family! It is a joyous event, as usual, as well as a full house. We are spending the holidays here with Shea's mom, sister, both brothers, one of the brothers kids, cousin, niece, and I'm sure someone else I'm forgetting. We're coming back to Austin Saturday, and back to work the day after the new year.

Each year, Shea's mom goes out and gets a Christmas tree and us kids decorate. I must admit that I sat and watched, but the end product turned out well!

Our cats Maxwell and Sylvester made the three hour trip with us, and Max acclimated to the new environment relatively well. Shea's mom already has three cats of her own, so Max had no problem finding playmates, or places to hide in!

Our trip here was very uneventful, and we made quite good time. We were advised (thanks Joe!) that leaving the day before Christmas in the middle of the day was the perfect time because we'd miss the traffic from the early-risers, and we'd be with everyone left over, the slackers. As such we made it to my mother-in-laws house in 3 hours and 5 minutes, shaving 10 whole minutes from the standard 3 hours and 15 minutes it usually takes.

We were blessed to have made the trip in luxury and comfort, as we swapped cars with the Robertsons. They had family in town and were making a trip, so they borrowed our Mazda Tribute and we swapped for their 2002 Honda Accord. Quite the ride! The seats fit like a glove, and the sunroof made us feel like we were in a convertible (without getting wet in the rain).

You may note that the car is very colorful compared to it's surroundings. What can you expect from typical boring suburban sprawl?

Never look a kitten in the eye

2007-12-23T16:04:00.000-08:00

One day we go over to have Tea and decorate cookies with the Crofts, and we are exposed to a 5-week old kitten named Sylvester. They discovered him at their apartment complex. I had resolved to Shea earlier in the week that we were not to have any more cats, and not to bring it home. I felt like 12 lbs of Maxwell was enough cat for us.

That was before I looked Sylvester in the eye. He kept getting into my lap, and purring constantly. It was simply amazing. It wasn't a few hours later that my resolve had melted away like the wicked witch of the east (according to Sam Brown).

So we decided to bring him home and make him a part of the Amaro family. So now we have two cats. As you can see here, he's a black cat with white patches. He also likes his namesake actor, Sylvester Stallone. He's really a fun and loving kitty, and will not hesitate to jump in your lap for a quick nap, purring the whole time. We'll see how long it lasts, as he will eventually grow up like his 12 lb feline friend, who is finicky, and quite regal.

Walked Off the Plank

2007-12-15T18:00:00.000-08:00

Shea Amaro participated in her graduation ceremony today, and it was awesome! Her mom, sister and aunt drove from Houston to be with us, and we had a wonderful party afterwards with our friends! It was really neat to see and behold; not only Shea being done with her school career, but it also felt like the start of a new chapter in our lives. Both of us out of school!

There seems to be a looming question in the air... now what? Shea is looking for gainful employment right now, however it seems like that is short term to something else that we need to be preparing for. Then again, it may just be my personality in always needing (wanting) some goal to achieve. We'll see!

Done!

2007-12-08T11:11:00.001-08:00

Shea Amaro had her last day of class last Tuesday! She is now done! Her graduation will be on December 15, 2007, with a reception hosted by our friends afterwards. This past week has been one of rest and relaxation (with some chores thrown in), and starting the process for finding a job! Shea will be looking for jobs related to architectural drafting.

Christmas is coming, and it looks like we'll be spending the week in Houston with family, and extended family! We're excited, and we're also looking forward to spending the entire week hanging out with family.

Until then, i'm going to have to start looking for frames to put Shea's degree in....

Stay Tuned

2007-12-02T04:16:00.000-08:00

So it's 6:17am this morning as I write this post. I woke up at 4:45a and made some omelette's and tea for my wife who is on the 48 hour count down before her last paper is due. She's been working since 5:30am. I have made a pact with her that I would wake up and take care of things while she works. Her last paper is due Monday evening at 6pm. Tuesday, she has a take-home exam that is due sometime in the afternoon (I forget the time). After that is turned in, she is done!!!

So stay tuned for more updates. We are in lock-down mode right now so things are pretty uneventful for the most part. To give Shea some time to herself to work on her paper, I spent the evening with the Robertson's and had some great brisket from a baby shower that we attended earlier in the afternoon.

So this morning i'm going to clean the kitchen some more, and then fix the weather-stripping on our Nissan Sentra. Problably around then I'll jump in the shower and get ready for church services. Shea will be working on her paper til the end of the day, or when she's finished, whichever comes first. Your mileage may vary.

Back to Work

2007-11-26T21:21:00.000-08:00

Today I went back to work. I was actually looking forward to getting some progress made on my projects, as I'm working on some pretty interesting stuff. I'm writing an app that involves on the fly encryption and internet sockets on QNX. Pretty nifty! I came home and slouched around for a while researching funds for our Roth IRA and playing some more Nintendo Wii. Cooked dinner and then went grocery shopping. I was told that it's not good on the wallet to go grocery shopping on an empty stomach, and I believe it's quite true.

Shea is hard at work finishing up her papers. That's basically her entire focus for the past couple of weeks, and will be until Dec 5, which is her last due date. She's got a paper due tomorrow which I hear she's putting on the finishing touches right now.

Not much meat on this post. Hopefully things will get interesting soon enough :)

Thanksgiving, Mario and Virtualization

2007-11-23T11:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was thanksgiving, and we had a splendid one with David and Merry Culp, wonderful friends and elder from our church. Their newly-wed daughter and husband were there (Emily and Jordan Swim), who is a pretty good cook! He also makes a mean cup of coffee :) Charlie Culp was there on Thanksgiving break from school, and we all enjoyed a great Thanksgiving dinner around the table. Afterwards we watched the Dallas Cowboys defeat the New York Jets and hung around outside next to the restaurant-grade space heater out in the back patio. What a treat!

Coming home, I spent a good amount of time relaxing playing the game of my time's era, Super Mario Bro's 3. We have a Nintendo Wii, and there is a neat feature that allows you to download games of the past and legally play them as though it was on the original platform. There's nothing like a game of Mario when you've got a fire going in the fireplace (as opposed to a fire outside the fireplace)! We also saw a good movie by the name of "All About Eve", circa 1950. Bette Davis. Quite good, thanks NetFlix!

Today is pretty slow for me, as I've got the rest of the week off. It is really nice being able to be at ease not having to worry about some deadline or what-not. I've got dinner coming tonight, and it's gonna involves really expensive (but I got some cheap) turmeric. So it's gotta be good! But until then here's a pet project that i've been working on...

I'm sure some of you guys have heard of an alternative operating system called Linux. A few of our friends have made the switch, and I've used it before while in college, and in high school. I've since rediscovered it and want to see how much progress has been made. A really neat way to "really" try out linux without completely (or incompletely) erasing everything on your computer is to use free virtualization tools such as VMWare Server and Microsoft Virtual PC. These free programs will simulate an entire computer running as a separate program within Windows. You can install Linux (or any operating system for that matter) on these virtual computers and try them out. If you don't like it, or get bored with it, (or more likely mess it up) you can simply "delete" your virtual computer. This allows you to keep using your Windows machine while at the same time running your Linux "virtual machine".

Virtualization has a lot of uses other than simply running Linux. But if you're interested, I recommend Ubuntu Linux for first-timers, and Gentoo Linux for power-users. If you happen to be interested in the inner workings of Linux, I recommend making your own Linux distribution. I encourage everyone to give it a try!

Chili, Cooking, Sick, Walking

2007-11-19T18:51:00.000-08:00

So what's going on with us?

Allergy issues are on the rise, and Shea has not been feeling so well. We're not quite sure if it's really just allergies, or if it's a case of the common cold. I haven't been feeling well myself, however I seem to be holding my own. I made a big pot of chili, and also a pot of rice. It was goooood! The neat thing was that we already had all of the ingredients for the chili, so I didn't need to go to the market. We've got 8 servings of leftovers, which we are freezing for lunches and quick dinners. I'd post a picture, except the batteries in our digital camera died. Picture or not, it was awesome. I'm a firm believer in the healing effects of chili, so we're hoping that Shea's cold will be knocked out.

Have you ever heard of an herbal supplement called "Airborne"? Apparently it helps to boost the body's immune system, and their slogan is "Invented by a Teacher!" We are currently trying it out, and we'll report results.

We live about 1.5 miles from where I work, so I decided to walk to work this morning. A coworker actually saw me walking! I've really been trying to minimize our dependence on the automobile, for exercise and for saving on gas prices. I walked home and since I wasn't really used to it, I took a three hour nap. I'm sure to be paying for it tonight, so i'll be spending my time reading word for word "Der Kleine Hobbit". Melatonin vitamin supplements really help to put me to sleep, but as I am rather adverse towards taking pills, we'll see if I can go to sleep the old fashioned way.

Shea had an appointment with her professor this evening, and she expressed satisfaction on Shea's progress writing her final capstone paper. She's writing on the ethics associated with cloning, in which she has been doing a lot of research (and checking out a lot of books). Shea graduates on December 15th, 2007, and she'll be walking across the stage. I'll just hope we've got batteries for the camera by then!

Max the Cat is currently sleeping.

Diplomacy and Cooking

2007-11-17T14:51:00.000-08:00

A very interesting event has occurred within the Amaro household. Our pet 'Maxwell', who is a member of the feline species which has been at war with the canine species for centuries, has made diplomatic contact with a representative of the canine order.

The evening started out with our friends Shawn and Sarah Croft coming over and bringing their dog 'Serisse'. Shea held Max to provide him with a sense of security during the diplomatic visit, as well as to prevent an attack involving feline claws and lots of hissing.

Much to our surprise, communications were established peacefully, even involving a meeting of the noses!
Afterwards, as talks progressed, they were able to relax around one another. We are quite proud of our Max!

Every diplomatic function requires a dinner of exquisite taste. However since we just dealing with a cat and a dog, I figured beef stroganoff would suffice. I decided to follow the recipe 'by the book' and it went pretty well! I did run into an issue with our food processor. The recipe called for diced onions, and I decided to add diced bell pepper also. Instead of taking the time to chop it up the old fashioned way, I decided to use the food processor. I quickly discovered that if you leave food in the food processor long enough, it will eventually turn into puree. So after making bellpepper and onion puree, I cooked in the stroganoff sauce and added the puree and ended up with this:
Even though it didn't look too good, I served this on top of pasta and it was pretty darn good! I'll consider this a successful cooking adventure!

Adventures in Cooking

2007-11-11T13:22:00.000-08:00

From Friday night 'til Saturday evening, Shea was suffering the effects of food poisoning. She had some beans for lunch Friday that either didn't agree with her stomach, or were so powerful that not even Spock could have handled them. Shea did not want a picture of her sick self online, so we decided to substitute a valued (if not self sustaining) member of our little family, Maxwell.

So Saturday night, seeing as she was on the mend, I decided to attempt to try my hand at making lunch after church the next day. It started off as a recipe titled "Lamb and Bean"... something or other. I forget the title. I took a trip to H-E-B and quickly found that lamb was a little pricey, so I substituted stew beef. I prepared the beef and the beans according to recipe, and stuck them in the crock pot. The recipe stated that they should cook on low heat for 9 to 10 hours, or high heat for 4 to 5 hours. Having started the crock pot at 9pm, I woke up at 7am to set the crock pot to "keep warm". Which brings me to my first mistake.

When it says "keep warm", that apparently doesn't apply to foods sitting in the crock pot for more than 3 or 4 hours. According to Shea, it started to burn while I was gone, so she added an extra can of beef broth, and then set it on low heat again. I come home, and find that it's still cooking, so I keep going.

'Das ist nicht so gut' - as they say...

The recipe called for a 'small eggplant' and sweet bell peppers. However I got a turbocharged-sized eggplant, and after breaking the potato peeler getting the skin off, I chopped it all up and stuck it in the crock pot, setting it on 'high' heat for 30 minutes. Second mistake, as eggplant doesn't really cook well when there's no moisture left in the crock pot. I cooked the rice, which turned out well, and then attempted to eat.

It was edible, I must say. However next time I think I'll pay more attention to the recipe. :)

Btw, Shea is feeling much better. She understandably had none of my concoction, but did eat a cup of my famous 'olive oil and pinch of salt jasmine rice'. Yum!

Foiled, Austin City Council, Gladiator

2007-11-08T21:27:00.000-08:00

Today is a day of great deeds! This is the first entry for this blog, I (Anthony) decided it was time to voice my opinion at the Austin City Council, I was foiled, and saw Gladiator for the first time. So let's go one at a time!

1.) This is the first blog entry. FIRST POST!

2.) Being a new 'convert' to the concept of New Urbanism, I told them that living in Austin was a bit expensive. I congratulated them on getting the ball rolling on dense urban developments such as the Mueller Airport Redevelopment. However a common criticism is that New Urbanism is really only for people who are rich. Town homes in the Mueller development start out from the 250's. I delivered three potential solutions to ensure that new urbanist neighborhoods like Mueller maintain income diversity.

i. Increase the maximum income requirement along with more stringent tests for financial responsibility.

ii. Three cities in America have successfully established Traditional Neighborhood Development using manufactured housing. The neighborhoods run in the 100's to 200's, and look like any other TND, with the added benefit of being modular by nature. If the owner wishes to construct a traditional home, the unit can be resold and removed from the lot in favor of a newly built home. See the new urban news article regarding factory built housing.

iii. Many cities have created affordable housing close to the city by building units close to public transit such as railways. Most developers will not develop housing units there because they will not sell for nearly as much (even though in most cases they will still turn over a sizable profit). However, that is another method to keep home prices affordable. See the report delivered by the center for Transit Oriented Development regarding affordability of homes in close proximity to public transit.

That was essentially what I said. After I was finished with my three minutes, Mayor Will Wynn asked me to provide the council with more information about my research. Also, I gave my business card to the person responsible for leading the affordable housing initiative. We'll see if he gets back to me :) I also am interested in watching a documentary titled "New Urban Cowboy", telling the story of how the drug slum neighborhood of Deland, FL was made into a safe and desirable place to live.

After that, I went back to work and was productive for the rest of the afternoon. Overall it was a neat experience, and at least I can say that I've done it!

3.) A bunch of my buddies decided to get together and have the first "man bunco" night, where we watch manly style movies while the wives play the 'real bunco'. Well my good friend (for privacy reasons, he will be referred to as Mr. Maloney) brought over two fencing foils. We promptly put on our face masks and proceeded to fence in Joe's garage! I lost 3-5; however, it was a valiant effort! I got a beauty of a whelp on my right hand. Hence, I was foiled.

4.) After nursing my wound, and catching my breath, we decided to watch Gladiator. Apparently when I had mentioned that I had never seen it before, I was introduced to this "box that shows moving pictures". It was a good movie; however, with all of the violent scenes, I quickly forgot about my little scratch. And yes, it was awesome.

This concludes the first post.