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Ben asked today how many Valentine's Days that Lori and I have celebrated. This was our 24th, but we have our tradition of not overly putting much effort into the day. After all, shouldn't you treat every day like Valentine's Day toward the ones you love? Somewhere in the mid-'90s, we decided not to buy into the pressure of making the holiday perfect. And thus, we came up with our perfect Valentine's Day dinner: fish sticks and macaroni and cheese. Fortunately, we ended up with two boys, so our anti-Valentine's Day meal indeed turned out to be the perfect celebration. Today, Michael actually made the mac and cheese. We sat around the kitchen table and ate, and though it felt informal (it was still a busy day all around for us), it was all I wanted from the day. That's not to say Valentine's Day can't be special. I think the one I remember most is when Michael was maybe 2, and I took him to Lori's work, where he brought his mommy a Valentine...

This Monday, I was tired. I didn't sleep well last night and dragged a little all day. I'm typing and drinking some tea now, looking forward to a better slumber tonight. This Monday, the inversion is bad. Still, I took the dog for a longer walk because she needed it. So did I, even if my lungs didn't. This Monday, I took Ben home from swim practice and we ate the dinner Lori made for us -- a sausage, potatoes and spinach dish. I took him to Webelos and worked at Starbucks for a little while. This Monday, I took Michael to basketball practice. He had one with his comp team earlier, then the one with his parish team I help coach. Michael might be getting his shot back after the latest growth spurt that put him past 6 feet. We scrimmaged, and my shot, unfortunately, was way off. This Monday is over. This Tuesday is on deck.

I love working remotely. I love working at home. During the summer, I love working on the porch or in the backyard. I love getting out to a coffee shop, settling in, and pounding out tasks perhaps more efficiently than I do at home. And I prefer working at the kitchen table -- our new table especially -- over the basement. Only one problem: The kitchen also contains food. And when I'm working in the kitchen, grazing all day becomes far too easy. Needless to say, there are extra pounds. The best remedy for this, of course, is warmer weather. This happened last year as well -- November rolled around and I worked strictly indoors until spring. When I first went to full-time two years ago, I was exclusively working in the basement. Maybe because I started in the winter, it felt too much like a tomb, and I took my Mac upstairs. Again, I don't want time to rush by (reinforced by the fact Michael has now reached 6 feet tall), but spring will be more than welcome when it even...

I've never been shy of declaring how much I dislike January. Easily, it's my least favorite month. The joy of Christmas has dissipated, the days are short, the sun is barely offering any benefits, and though Salt Lake City doesn't suffer from the debilitating Midwestern sub-zero temperatures, we are forced to endure inversions -- smog fests that are sabotage the air quality and mask an otherwise blue sky. I don't want any time of year to go quickly simply to be done with it, generally because I don't want these years to go by any faster than necessary. That said, I won't be that sad when February arrives (and then, eventually, March). But something odd happened this January -- a weird winter break for the boys. Their last day of school was Dec. 23, they got two weeks off and didn't return until Jan. 9. After just one week back in school, they were off today for MLK Day. Tomorrow is Jan. 17; my least favorite month is more than halfway over without it quit...

Took a couple months off from blogging ... Fall has been busy. Busy, but not entirely stressful. Work kicked into high gear right at the beginning of September. This is what I was looking forward to when my role changed, so that's why I haven't been stressed. I'm still sleeping well. Every day is busy, but not soul-crushing. There are good days and bad, but I'm so much happier than I was six months ago. Summer ended, and it was back to a routine that was bound to be busier, not just because of school, but also because summer tends to be slower at work. Then the Cubs made the playoffs and I watched 17 games over the past month. Lori was out of town for a few days, and everything seemed a bit less productive, a bit less structured. But I finally feel like I'm coming up for air. This next week will be busy, for sure, but I'm optimistic about it. Today was my 46th birthday. The Cubs won the World Series last week, and Lori and the boys bought me championship g...

The sun was too warm today, but I'm going to blame it on my cold. They day was bright and hot -- and the right way to officially call it a summer. I am still a bit under the weather and tired, and when I went in to co-op, the P.E. teacher told me to take the afternoon off. I found a shady spot at a nearby park to chill, and eventually Lori joined me and we talked for a while. I took Michael home from school, grilled a tri-tip roast we cut up for dinner, partook in a quick fantasy football draft, Ben and I tried Perquackey , and walked the dog. I tried sitting in the sun, but again, it was too warm, and being too warm with a cold can be just as miserable as being too cold. And now I sit on my porch, writing about Day 119, the last day of summer. Besides saying it went to fast, I never felt really settled in, could never get a routine going. That's part of the transition I talked about before, and now that summer is over, I'm starting to find my groove. That said, there w...

Well, I couldn't escape summer without one cold. There were a couple days I felt nasally but nothing came of it. I saw Lori and Ben get minor colds but avoided one myself. I had that stomach bug a couple months ago, but it only lasted a day. I made it through Thursday and Friday last week, enjoyed the pool Saturday, and was fine. Sunday, I was a little tired but still was ready to take on the world. Then, about 2 p.m., I felt that little congestion in the back of my sinuses, and a little drip into my throat. I started my anti-cold assault (Cold-Eze, Tylenol, Chlor-Trimeton) almost immediately, but to no avail. I woke up in the middle of the night with a bad sore throat from the drip, and the cold was officially in progress. Monday was a bit rough but I did manage to get out of the house -- we all went to Savers to buy pants for our growing boys. I restocked on tissues and throat drops at Walmart on the way back. Today wasn't so bad -- I was tired but not wrecked, and the ...