During some previous home improvement project, I signed onto the Kohler Kitchen and Bath site to get diagrams of a particular faucet I was disassembling. As a results, I occasionally get emails from Kohler about new products, specials, etc. It's pretty standard stuff but the wording is often amusing. This one arrived just a couple minutes ago:
Size Comparison: a Schaper Stomper 4x4
The baby is a growin'! We'll have another appointment with the doctor next week so maybe we'll have more news then. There problem won't be another ultrasound unless, of course, it's like last month and the Doppler device doesn't zero in on the baby's heartbeat. NOT hearing the heartbeat made for some very nervous minutes. The ultrasound (image posted below) showed that everything was perfectly fine and moving around like crazy. Anyway, I'm guessing the heartbeat will be a little louder so maybe it'll be easier to hear. It was running at around 158 beats per minute last month...we'll see how it compares this time. Otherwise, we're wondering when Denisa will be able to feel the baby moving. Soon, if not already.
I had a few of the Schaper Stompers as a kid. Ok, I actually had them up through a couple month ago when I sold them on eBay. In any case, they were a blast. Actually pretty powerful for a single AA battery juicing four wheels. They'd climb just about anything and, believe me, I tried getting them to climb just about everything.
I admit that I love westerns. I know that western books and movie aren't exactly in these days (though I do know there are several new western flicks either out or on the way that might juice up the genre) but, then again, I'm rarely in. To be completely honest, I claim to be a big fan but I haven't extensively explored the genre. I've seen several Eastwood spaghetti westerns and I've read a handful of books but those barely scratch the surface of the Western. I'm working on changing that. I recently watched The Magnificent Seven for the first time (excellent, by the way) and I'm reading a huge 500+ page collection of Jonah Hex comics.
Anyway, I did recently read Journal of the Gun Years by Richard Matheson. I enjoyed it, of course (if I don't enjoy something, I have no qualms about putting it down). I had previously read some of Matheson's western work and this book definitely felt similar to The Gunfight. In fact, some of it was very similar but it didn't feel repetitive. I haven't bothered to look to see which book came first but that really doesn't matter.
Journal of the Gun Years follows the life of a young man as he finds himself growing into a gunfighter both feared and famous. It's interesting to see his rise to fame, his astonishment at his own fame, and how it all changes him. Yes, there's plenty of action but it's never really the focal point. It's almost a coming-of-age kind of story. It just happens that the coming-of-age involves a lot of gun play, some feudin', and a lot of fussin'. Good stuff.
Go for the head,
RB
Size Comparison: Shipwreck GI Joe Figure.
If you’re reading Retro Brett, we’ve really probably met. In fact, we’re probably reasonably close friends and/or family. Let’s face it, I’m not exactly getting a lot of strangers checking out the site. Anyway, if we’re that close, the fact that my wife and I are expecting our second child probably comes as no surprise to you.
I’ll be honest, finding out that we’re expecting a second child did come as a surprise to me. Don’t get me wrong, it was an incredibly happy surprise but, still, as surprise. After it took so long (close to two years) to get pregnant with Jesse, I wasn’t really anticipating a pregnancy after only one or two months of NOT trying not to have another child. When we found out, I actually thought it was funny. I genuinely laughed out loud. I’m still laughing about it. It’s extremely exciting. It’ll mean some big changes. And, even though it’s a little scary, I’m surprisingly unstressed about it. Watch out world!
Continuing the Retro Brett tradition of comparing the current size of our new baby to something retro and cool, Baby Dos is about the size of one of the GI Joe figures I remember from my early/mid eighties childhoods. I picked Shipwreck for the visual as he struck me as one of the most memorable characters from both the toy and the cartoon series. Really, he’s got a parrot? Seriously? Ok, maybe Snake-Eyes is more popular but he certainly not as colorful.
I’ll get an ultrasound picture posted shortly.
My wife and I love reading. We hope that’s something we’ll be able to pass down to Jesse. Of course, Jesse is just about a year old so he’s currently more interested in grabbing, pulling, and biting books than actually listening to a story of any length. Still, there was a period when he was a lot less mobile and I really enjoyed reading to him (I still do but I just have to understand he’ll probably be petting the dog, pulling pillows off the couch, or banging on something [maybe me] while I read). I especially liked going back and sharing with Jesse some of the books I loved as a kid. Danny and the Dinosaur by Sid Hoff stands out. As does the Harry the Dirty Dog series by Gene Zion. And how can I forget just about anything by Shel Silverstein?
We’ve also stumbled upon the work of contemporary author/artist by the name of Adam Rex. We first found his Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich at an independent bookseller in my hometown and I immediately fell in love with the artwork. He manages to create work that is both whimsical (I never thought I use that word in this blog) and realistic. The writing is also fun and imaginative. One of my favorite poems of Rex’s is titled Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Henderson and involves one Dr. Jekyll drinking the wrong potion prior to a dinner party. Instead of the monstrous Hyde, Jekyll transforms into Henderson, a dull but no less terrifying insurance salesman. Excellent stuff. That said, the book was part of Jesse’s Christmas last year and we’ve read through it on multiple occasions. We’ve also read Rex’s Tree Ring Circus which was also quite entertaining though I’m personally fond of the vampires, werewolves, and zombies in Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich.
I’m always on the lookout for children’s book suggestions. Does anyone have additional recommendations?
Well, we've finally done it. My wife dropped the very last of our car payments off at the bank the other day. As of now, our 2005 Hyundai Tucson, the car I affectionately call "The H-Bomb" is ours. That last payment was a doozy, covering probably a couple years of monthly payments but, boy howdy, does it feel good to have it done. Now, all we have to do is wait for the title. And, from now on, NO MORE CAR PAYMENTS! At least not if we can help it.
As for the debt situation, all we have left is the house. That puts us through the first 3 steps of Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps to financial peace:
 | $1,000 to start an Emergency Fund |
| Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball |
| 3 to 6 months of expenses in savings |
 | Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement |
| College funding for children |
| Pay off home early |
| Build wealth and give! |
| Invest in mutual funds and real estate |
