The obligatory "catching up" post

It truly shocked me to see that I had not blogged since December 2010 (and that wasn't a real entry).  I blame Facebook.

Since my last real post, several things have happened.

Most importantly, my fifth daughter, Claire, was born in December 2010.

For those who followed my posts about marathon training, you should be pleased to learn that I did, indeed, complete the 2010 Dallas White Rock Marathon.  I also completed the 2011 Rock and the 2012 OKC Memorial Marathon.  I am currently training for the 2012 NYC ING Marathon in November.

I lost my job at the Dallas DA's Office at the end of 2010 and spent a few months trying to find a new job before deciding to open my own solo law practice.

My weight loss journey started back up again last fall.  During marathon training in 2010, I had lost 20 pounds.  When I took a few months off before kicking it back up in 2011, I had gained 10 of that back.  I thought I would be able to lose that 10 again just as easily as I had the year before, but it was not to be.  In fact, over the first 3 1/2 months of training last year, I gained 3 pounds to get back up to 250.  In September, I downloaded the MyFitnessPal app for my phone and started tracking my daily caloric intake and burn.  I got down as low as 193 in April.  Right now, I'm back up a little because I haven't been as diligent as I need to be.

So, what inspired my return to this corner of the blogosphere?  I was a Delegate to the 2012 Texas Republican Convention last week.  Although I am not particularly thrilled with who wound up as the GOP Presidential nominee this year (sorry to my Ron Paul supporting friends, it really is a done deal at this point), the convention (as tiring as it was) renewed my enthusiasm for politics.  Thus, you can expect a decidedly political focus going forward.  That's not to say that I won't mention other things, but politics will be the primary subject.

A Few Random Thoughts

Marathon training has been a little rough. It never dawned on me that donating double red blood cells might not be a good idea when one is running about 20 miles a week.

Work has been a little weird because one of our prosecutors has had laryngitis since last Tuesday, so I've been having to go back out to the JP Courts to cover for her.

I'm about to turn 42, and I still get people who don't believe me when I tell them how old I am. Many are skeptical when I tell them how much I weigh, too.

I'm looking forward to our Pastor getting back from vacation this week. I miss his preaching.

We leave for Walt Disney World in 21 days. I anxiously anticipate seeing the looks on my kids' faces when we enter the Magic Kingdom.

Is it really possible that we might have a day with a high less than 100° this week?

Short Update

I'm still out here. Life has been hectic since November. No excuse for not at least posting a little now and then.

Work is work.

Family is fine.

Life is good.

I'll post more later after I get home from rehearsal.

Wonders never cease

Lo, and behold, they restored access to blogger at work. Just discovered this toward the end of my lunch hour.

Well, that went well

After that promise to start being more regular in blogging, I disappeared for a while again. Work has been nuts. We are short an attorney in our Division, so I've basically been doing the work of 2 people for about a month. We get our replacement on the 29th, and then once I get him trained, I can get back to only handling my duties.

Also, the powers that be at the office have once again blocked our access to much of the internet, so blogging on my lunch hour is much more difficult.

What's Going On?

I've been on a blog hiatus for a little while. No more.

We took a vacation to Half Moon Lake in Michigan a couple of weeks ago. Despite having no air conditioning in the lake house and no hot water the first night, it was an enjoyable time. I read 2 1/2 books and did very little else.

At work, there are some issues that have cropped up in the past week and a half, but I don't like to blog about work things, so lets just leave it at: I could use your prayers.

I'm rapidly approaching my 40th Birthday. If you haven't received an invitation to the party (some went out in the mail, some via Evite) and feel like you should, let me know. I tried to think of everybody, but I'm sure I inadvertently omitted some folks.

The Early Bird Gets the Worm

I awoke at 3:20 a.m. this morning and couldn't get back to sleep, so I went ahead and got out of bed at 4:00, got ready, and came on in to work.  I got to the office at 6:15.  Still dark.

I figure that I'll be "crashing" by 10:00 this morning, but for right now, I seem to be doing okay.

It is, however, already time for a 20 oz. Diet Dr Pepper. 

Here I Am Again, Fellas

Up way too late when I have to be in Court in the morning (I can't think of those words without thinking of Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park. Speaking of Neil Simon, I'm directing Brighton Beach Memoirs at KCCT. Rehearsals don't start until August 27th. Thankfully, I have been able to cast the entire show. Now, I want to make sure we promote the heck out of it because its a great show that I think people will enjoy, and it would be a shame if we only average audiences of 20.

One of those Days

I had to go to the Post Office to get something in the mail this morning. First, I thought it opened at 8:00, but it didn't open until 8:30. Thankfully, I had only gotten there at about 8:25. Then, after waiting for them to open up the window area, I asked if they had any Flat Rate Priority Mail boxes. I needed to mail some folio-sized books. They had the more squared boxes, but not the ones I needed, so I was going to have to go to another P.O. The most logical choice was the Dallas Main Post Office on Interstate 30 just west of downtown Dallas.

I-30 was shut down right before the downtown canyon, thus causing delay and diverting me out of the way.

At work, we are unable to locate a file on a case that is set for Announcement today. The defense Attorney is coming up to see me, but he probably won't be willing to work out a deal because I can't show him our evidence.

The Sun'll Come Out Today

Once again, I find myself unable to get to sleep. I have Court in the morning, but I just haven't gotten the least bit sleepy. I've been surfing the web. I Googled my best friend, Rod Martin and spent a lot of time sifting through 21 pages of results. If you Google my name, you get almost 80 pages, but very few of the links are about me. Most of them are about the former President of the Fort Worth Cats minor league baseball team or some guy who is in a Beatles tribute band.

I also found some info about a church I may visit soon. It's closer to us now than our previous church was before we moved, so it's worth the consideration if the church is good. I like the folks at the church we currently attend, but I feel like a fish out of water because we're not really Lutherans.

The Sweat of My Brow

For those of us for whom our primary vocation is more intellectually oriented than physical, there is something inherently pleasing about doing things with our hands when we get the chance. I think that's why so many white collar workers would like to have some sort of workshop in their backyards. Quite simply, a guy can derive much more satisfaction by being able to point at something, say a bookshelf, or a built in desk, or even a clean garage, and exclaim, "I made/did that!" than he gets when he finishes even the most brilliantly crafted memo or legal brief.

I spent four hours today cleaning our garage. I can't even say "cleaning out" our garage because when it came right down to it, I didn't throw very much away. Mainly, I rearranged what was in there. There's still stuff in there that does need to be tossed, but today was not the day to take care of that.

The Reason Why

I would never have spent my day off doing that chore, but yesterday my wife said she smelled something emanating from the garage. I investigated and discovered that a plastic jug of turpentine had developed a leak and spilled out onto the floor. Compounding the problem was that the jug had been under a large pile of stuff. So, as is not uncommon, a problem that probably should have been resolved long ago sat untended until a crisis arose.

Whatever the impetus, I now have a clean garage, but I still can't park in it.

I am Thankful

KThis is the time at which we naturally start to think about all for which we have to be thankful. For me, the list is very long.

I am thankful for a wife who loves me no matter how difficult I may be at times.

I am thankful for four beautiful and healthy daughters who love me.

I am thankful for a brother who was a good example to me when I was growing up and who still challenges me to think.

I am thankful for a sister with a loving spirit who can make me laugh when she laughs with abandon.

I am thankful for a father-in-law and mother-in-law who raised a wonderful wife for me.

I am thankful for a job that I enjoy that feels worthwhile.

I am thankful for a part-time second job that I enjoy that helps pay our monthly bills.

I am thankful for living in the United States where I can enjoy the freedom to believe what I want, think what I want, and say what I want.

I am thankful for a home, despite all the chores it requires.

I am thankful for the ability to spend my free time in activities that stimulate me and foster my creativity.

I am thankful for a mother who taught me what it means to be a Godly woman, and who showed me a model for a wife.

I am thankful for a father who taught me how to be not just a father, but a dad; who showed me that what you do is even more important than what you say; who went outside his own comfort zone to pursue a career that provided for our family generously; and who loves his grandchildren and great grandchildren.

I am thankful for a Father who has forgiven me, not based on any thing I am or have done, but just because He wanted to.

One Tired Puppy

Sorry I haven't put anything on here in the past couple of days. Between my two jobs and the new baby, I've just been swamped.

COMING SOON: My review of Stephen King's The Dark Tower (Volume VII): The Dark Tower

UPDATE (12-10-06): Sorry that review never materialized.

It's been a long day

I had a Court Docket today. 105 cases set in the morning. 40 this afternoon. For some inexplicible reason, the afternoon docket took almost as long as the morning one. I got done with Court at 3:45, and I had to head downtown to get some stuff done (my mileage report and my time entry). Normally I wouldn't have had to do that today—the mileage report isn't due until Thursday, and the time doesn't close out until Friday—however, I'm taking the next three days off from work.

Why? you ask.

Tomorrow morning, I have to get up at 4:30ish (there's a 4:30am?) to accompany my wife to the hospital. The Doctor, a great guy named Dr. Lee, will be inducing labor for our fourth daughter, Lindsey in the morning. Well, it'll be our fourth daughter unless the ultrasound was wrong. In that case, Dr. Lee will be inducing labor for our first son, Jarod.

So, tomorrow's gonna be another long day, and the odds are that I won't get a chance to post. I know, I know, all 3 of my readers are heartbroken.

Now, for the seven and a half of you who are wondering why I had 145 cases set on my dockets for today—I am a Prosecutor in the Hot Check Division of the Dallas District Attorney's office. One of our duties is to cover the dockets in the Justice Courts. Primarily, that means prosecuting traffic tickets, but there are other types of cases as well. In the twenty months I've had this job, I've tried approximately 2000 cases (yes, you read that right—I try about 100 cases a month). I have a 97.5% conviction rate, and I haven't lost a Jury Trial in over a year. Of course, now that I've bragged about that, I'll probably go on a terrible losing streak.

Anyway, back to the long day. After I left the office, I had to go to my part-time teaching gig at Eastfield College. That was another three hours. So, now I'm worn out, but not sleepy, and I have to get up in six hours.

Finally tonight, my best friend threatened me to within an inch of my life if I didn't link to his site, so here goes:

The Vanguard

I'll most likely be posting more about Rod in the future.