good things for July (sort of
Again, I have missed keeping track of a bunch of days here. Must be because of summer break. Also, it is September and I am just finding my partial list from July. August and September have been great but have no lists.
1 - Doubly social: lunch with a young couple and dinner with another young couple. Fun Fact: the female in each couple was named Michelle, and both were pregnant.
2 - So very thankful for air conditioning.
3 - Jonah was tired and went to sleep without a fuss.
4 - The power came back on in Earlysville just in time for everything to be cooled down for a cook-in.
5 - Busy day included dinner with Todd and Amy and a visit to see our 6-hour-old nephew.
6 - Well-timed arrival downtown to meet my parents and Amanda and Jonah for dinner.
7 - Nice breakfast with relatives from Missouri, even if Jonah was antisocial.
8 -
9 -
10 - After six months of my new job, I still smile when I realize that I get paid to read articles about buses (and possibly write one at some point).
11 -
12 -
13 -
14 -
15 - The waxy chocolate donuts I ate after rehearsal didn't seem to affect my singing during the choral presentation.
16 - Ultrasound determined that everything looks perfect with baby boy #2.
17 - While playing with the lamp, Jonah would turn it on and say "It's sunny!", then turn it off and say "It's moony!" (He made this up and was very proud of himself.)
18 - [I know there have been good things over the last few days, but I haven't recorded one since the 10th. I will backfill as possible.] Today's good thing was that I had my fan at work. It had sat unused for six months under my desk, but was worth its weight in gold today.
19 - Drove an orientation shuttle. Also, on my bike ride home, there was enough rain to make a beautiful rainbow over the mountains, but not enough to get me wet.
20 -
21 -
22 -
23 - Jonah behaved reasonably well for me when I had the evening duties all to myself.
24 - Celebrated eight wonderful years of marriage to Amanda.
25 -
26 -
27 -
28 -
29 -
30 -
31 -
Labels: good things
good things for June
1 - I made the right decision in driving to work (double monsoons would have made biking tough).
2 - My mom liked the spice shop, and Jonah enjoyed visiting with Grandpa and Grandma. And they brought fresh cherry pie and left the whole thing in our fridge!
3 - Dan and Alden happened to be at church for the announcement of our pastoral candidate. This announcement means the veil of secrecy can be lifted.
4 - In the morning, I kissed Amanda goodbye, after which Jonah really tried hard to kiss me on the lips. It was awkward but hilarious. We compromised by letting him kiss me on the forehead. 5 - Had a meeting in the state capitol building and walked right past the governor's mansion. I am Kind Of A Big Deal.
6 - The kids' musical at church was hilarious.
7 - Amanda had a good pregnant-lady checkup and they could hear the heartbeat.
8 - "If you can teleport, then why are we taking the bus?" "Because I LIKE BUSES!" 9 - We went to the pool in the morning and went on an adventure in the afternoon.
10 - Another pool at the church picnic. Jonah went down a little slide and let me catch him in the pool.
11 - We visited my former co-workers at JAUNT and let Jonah disrupt their afternoon.
12 - I bought a new-to-me desk chair for $5.25 to replace the one that hurts my butt bones.
13 - Amanda went shopping and got a lot of stuff we needed, including a $3 stuffed dinosaur that Jonah named Buddy.
14 - I got to learn more than I needed to about the old coach bus.
15 - I pretended to be hip in the morning by sitting outside downtown and drove the old coach bus in the evening (without hitting anything - maybe).
16 - Trouble-free brunch and reception for the new pastor.
17 - The vote to call the new pastor was unanimous, which was a relief. And Jonah got to go for a "ride" in the in-laws' new travel trailer without its wheels turning.
18 - I drove to work instead of biking so I could pick up a Relay order on the way home, and it worked out really well because there was an unexpected downpour on the way in.
19 - Brandy had her baby.
20 - Met and held the new baby. I find it hard to remember Jonah being that tiny, but he was (almost).
21 - Discussed some exciting possibilities at the bike committee meeting (left turns! where they are now prohibited!)
22 - Jonah cackled with glee for us to sing Yankee Doodle (which involved bouncing on our knees), which of course was a song he learned at Vacation Bible School.
23 - Jonah was funny (and smart) at Dylan's birthday party, refusing to play in the heat outside except when the water play table had been set up.
24 - Leisurely bike tour through a lovely historic neighborhood with my dad.
25 - Perhaps to make up for being a defiant boy most of the day, Jonah demonstrated "big hugs" and "tiny hugs."
26 - Beautiful day meant we opened windows and never ran the A/C.
27 - Lots of tasty food and desserts at church potluck. Possibly too much.
28 - We made it one whole day with the "funny-looking trains" being cleaned up without Jonah noticing.
29 - Free lunch at O'Hill, and Dean was the card-swiper.
30 - We had power after the big storm and were able to help the Bartleys take some showers.
Labels: good things
good things for May
1 - Had some fun reading about Yield to Bus laws and flashing signs.
2 - After months of wrangling, Jonah finally got a haircut. Just in time for hot, humid summer days!
3 - Amanda and Jonah rode my bus, and Jonah really seemed to enjoy it. He kept yelling "Weeee!"
4 - Thai lunch.5 - Operation Inasmuch always makes me feel good for the right reasons.
6 - I put new batteries in the blue and red trains and they went faster.
7 - We narrowed the pastor search list.
8 - Lunch out at nice pizza place after talking about transit.
9 - Didn't bomb at first Research Advisory Committee meeting.
10 - Brought home Bodo's for lunch, and Amanda got to see Baby #2 moving around a lot (probably due to the Bodo's) during an ultrasound.
11 - Announced our news on Facebook.
12 - Jonah got to meet Aunt Liz and see Aunt Mary Kay again.
13 - Good times with Jonah outdoors at Mother's Day festivities: he played with 7 balls, went down three slides, used two swings, rode on a scoot-car, and bounced on Jacob's trampoline/wrestling ring.
14 - Drove a bus all the way to the top of Monticello.
15 - Squeezed in a bit of play time with Jonah between work and a meeting.
16 -
17 - Ran into someone from BSU at a transit conference (oddly, he was there for a women's conference)
18 - Glad to have dinner at home again after almost a week.
19 - Hannah's wedding featured a golf cart ride, mountain stream, and a beautiful drive out there.
20 - Drove an old bus for UVA graduation.
21 - "Strawbee" picking adventure plus lunch at Anna's in Crozet
22 - Didn't run out of gas and learned that the new car still has a few gallons when the fuel light is on and the gauge is fully on E.
23 - Had fun being a transit geek and riding The Tide, Norfolk's new light rail line.
24 -
25 -
26 - We fulfilled our missions as cheapskates and saved $8 by parking around the corner instead of right in front of the arena for Sesame Street Live.
27 - A few of the kids at the bike rodeo seemed to be learning what we were trying to teach. Also, Jonah got a free cookie at Whole Foods just for being his cute self.
28 - Adventure to Richmond children's museum and lunch at Belle Isle, and made it home in time to take a large amount of fish (that we had been given months ago) to a memorial day cookout.
29 - Made it through my first big project kickoff meeting at work unscathed.
30 - We got out of choir early.
31 - Checked out bike racks for our newly installed hitch.
Labels: good things
good things for April
1 - Got TV mounted, got my hair cut (despite misgivings about doing so on April Fools Day), and walked around the nicer parts of Belmont
2 -
3 - Saw four hot-air balloons on the way to work, plus had two interesting meetings.
4 - Free lunch featuring a cranberry chocolate chip cookie.
5 - Checked out cars at a bizarre car sale thing.
6 - Checked out cars at a regular dealer.
7 - Spent the morning downtown cheering for the marathon runner brother-in-law.
8 - Perfect weather for some outdoor Bartley-Ohlms fun with the inflatable cube: just enough wind to make it interesting.
9 - Maybe made a decision?10 - Jonah asked Amanda, "Why not Daddy stay home, Mommy go work?"
11 - At church dinner, Jonah loved both the spaghetti and the giant letters on the wall behind us (Me: "What does OIAM spell?" J: "Jonah!")
12 - Worked from home.
13 - Jonah bought us a surprise while he was playing on the iPad (at least it wasn't the $1,200 vacation to London).
14 - We kind of bought a new car - not on the iPad - and coincidentally, Phillip came over and spearheaded the scratch-removal and washing of our old car.
15 - Jonah managed to nap for me while Amanda went to a bridal shower.
16 - Five-cent cone day at Kohr Bros. gave Jonah a chance to eat a whole ice cream cone. (He didn't actually eat the cone itself, though.)
17 - Free breakfast at work. And we brought our new car home!
18 - Got to drive the new car a bit.
19 - Had both Hot Buffalo Wing Pretzel Pieces and Spree to help make the afternoon bright.
20 - Beautiful morning driving a beautiful ancient bus.
21 - Our second time getting in the Guinness Book of World Records (both were for the Great Cloth Diaper Change)
22 - Drove into the country, got some eggs, and poked around inside a 1984 Greyhound bus.
23 - Pastor Search meeting clarified some things before we went too far down the wrong path.
24 - Rediscovered toys that we had been storing in the basement. They had working batteries!
25 - Spoke to a candidate for pastor for the first time.
26 - Made the right choice to go to a meeting in person rather than call in - got to meet some key players.
27 - Sent out my first project proposal.
28 - Jonah and I had a lot of quality time while Amanda hosted a baby shower for Ashley.
29 - I played handbells for the first time in years and wasn't a whole lot worse than everyone else.
30 - Really interesting pastor search committee meeting.
Labels: good things
good things for March
1 - A beautiful day to have the window open at the office.2 - Cloudy days are nice too, because I don't have to shut the blinds.
3 - Jonah did a good job playing well with others (or at least near others) at a birthday party.
4 - I had a salad for lunch after having pizza three times in two days.
5 - Drove a car (because of the snow), a bus and a van (both after the snow melted).
6 - Pastor Search Committee meeting affirmed some things I was afraid it wouldn't affirm.
7 - Really nice day afforded an opportunity for a walk at lunch.
8 - Another nice day gave me a chance to bike to a nice neighborhood.
9 - And a third cooler but still nice day allowed for a hike in the woods.
10 - Jonah said "Grandma" and "Grandpa" to their faces.
11 - Possibly (fingers crossed) fixed the dryer without taking it apart.
12 - Squeezed in a tiny bit of bus driving during the workday.
13 - Ate some bacon
14 - Got caught up on some podcast listening on the drive to Norfolk for a freight conference
15 - Harbor/port tour on a boat
16 - Romantic getaway to Staunton, featuring a live play at a bargain price and other deals.
17 - Test-drove a Mazda5. Also, bacon for breakfast for the third day in a row.
18 - Found an entree at the Mexican restaurant that was both tasty and vegetarian (which made it seem almost healthy, making up for the bacon).
19 - Good news. My bike tire lasted all day after being a little low in the morning.
20 - I did not have to go anywhere on my bike.
21 - Amanda went above and beyond to help resolve the bike thing.
22 - Ashley joined us for dinner, even though we were just having leftovers.
23 - Another weekend begins.
24 - I was inside a hip coffeehouse like a hipster. (We were there for The Very Hungry Caterpillar storytime.)
25 - I was productive while Amanda went shopping for deals.
26 - Amanda and Jonah joined me for a pizza dinner followed by a big old meeting.
27 - Got to be my most lazy by driving a bus and getting off where I could ride downhill to work.
28 - The MPO director I'd been trying to reach for three and a half weeks called me back!
29 - Hung out with big shots and had free lunch at a pat-ourselves-on-the-back "research summit."
30 - Friday night on the downtown mall with hamburgers and frozen yogurt.
31 - I fought valiantly for eternal bus glory (and did not back into a tree) in the morning, and Jonah cleaned up at the egg hunt (with over three dozen eggs) in the afternoon.
Labels: good things
good things for February
1 - Nobody was injured during Amanda's rough morning.2 - I moved into my new office, and at least one co-worker was envious of my desk.
3 - Succeeded in completing a full week of biking to and from work.
4 - After much gnashing of teeth, the washing machine became functional again.
5 - Spent the morning honoring Girls in Action and spent the evening honoring commercials and men crashing into each other.
6 - Organized the office in the afternoon
7 - I was not selected as a juror for the George Huguely murder trial
8 - First team meeting at work
9 - Jonah was really excited to have CAKE for his birthday.
10 - Crystal came over to help with birthday party preparations.
11 - Jonah's birthday party went smoothly.
12 - Finished watching the last episode of Chuck (bittersweet)
13 - Put finishing touches on Valentine's scavenger hunt for Amanda
14 - She seemed to enjoy it.
15 - Lunch with the current BSU minister.
16 - They Might Be Giants rocked C'ville.
17 - Start of my second long weekend - holidays are so nice. We got a bookshelf.
18 - "Guy Time" with Jonah while Amanda went to a party, including some productive reading during Jonah's nap.
19 - Finally, some actual snow, and on a convenient evening when I don't need to bike to work the next day.
20 - Successful shopping and IHOP.
21 - I wasn't the only one at work feeling crappy. Misery loves company.
22 - Meetings were worth the trip to Richmond, and Jonah learned to say "cross" after noticing the crosses on our foreheads.
23 - Jonah made me feel loved by wanting to play with me every time I came upstairs from the home office.
24 - First work meeting related to transit.
25 - Afternoon nap was just what the doctor ordered, and Amanda got to spend some time with Ashley.
26 - Shared information.
27 - First free lunch of the new job.
28 - The replacement top for our new bookcase arrived, and Amanda had a great idea for reusing the damaged top as a shelf.
29 - Leap Day! And I had three breakfasts.
Labels: good things
good things for January
1 - Saw lots of folks at church in Greensboro, toured Doug and Cindy's new house, rode a Gator and operated an excavator with Jonah, and met baby Aidan.
2 through 9 - [there were many good things, I'm sure, but this week is one of those holes in my record-keeping]
10 - Started new job. Orientation was painless, and I had a choice of offices.
11 - JAUNT Board made a dumb decision that made it even easier to leave for the new job.
12 - First whole day at new job. Either office provides views of trees.
13 - First holiday at new job.
14 - Crystal played with Jonah while Amanda and I did some much-needed organizing.
15 - It took all of Jonah's naptime, but I fixed the coat rack, at least for a while.
16 - Pancakes and local sausage for dinner.
17 - Reserved a hotel for first trip of new job (Transportation Research Board).
18 - Apple sent me a tiny, fancy new Nano to replace the vintage one that was recalled.
19 - Spudnuts and Bodo's at work. Eatin' round things with holes.
20 - Pizza lunch with the new boss and listened to a colleague give a talk in one of the old engineering classrooms.
21 - We tried an appetizer at Belmont Pizza.
22 - Snow, without all the problems that usually come with snow.
23 - Safe trip to DC during morning rush hour when it was supposed to be icy.
24 - Saw some old friends and colleagues I wasn't expecting to see.
25 - Was glad to get home and see Jonah and Amanda again (well, I only saw Jonah at church).
26 - Attended a planning meeting and saw many of the usual suspects.
27 - Back at JAUNT for one last day to give a decently well-received presentation.
28 - The weather was nice enough that we walked to the open house of the International School, where Jonah will not be attending preschool.
29 - One of Jonah's friends appeared at Red Robin as we were lunching and sat by us.
30 - Amanda and Jonah met me for dinner.
31 - Anniversary of 11 years since Amanda and I started dating.Labels: good things
