like a kid at christmas

My wife and I are 39 weeks pregnant today. This means we're one week from the baby's due date. As I wait in anticipation for the birth of my first child, I would like to compare it to the anticipation of Christmas. Translation: the nearer it gets the more heightened the anticipation and the increase of the impatience.

Why the comparison makes sense...

Let's face it, we don't think too much about Christmas for most of the year as kids. I mean, it comes up every now and again but for the most part, we don't stress it too much. But come Thanksgiving, all we can think about is Christmas. And each week until Christmas feels longer than the one before. And Christmas Eve feels like the longest day of the year. I still can't fully sleep on Christmas Eve. Maybe I'm still a kid at heart, but I just get so excited for Christmas morning to come. And it has nothing to do with presents either. I just love Christmas day!

Likewise, the first 36 weeks of pregnancy seemed to fly by. Even though things are crawling now, each week has felt a little longer as we near the due date. I am full of anticipation. I simply cannot wait to meet my daughter!

Where the comparison fails...

What I've been discovering though, is that it's not a perfect comparison due to one major difference: the nature of the anticipated date. What do I mean? Well, Christmas is a fixed day. You know that Christmas comes every December 25th. On December 24th, you know that you only have one more day to go. With pregnancy, the due date is not fixed. You could have the baby earlier or later than the anticipated due date. And I haven't decided yet if this makes things better or worse.

On the one hand, I feel like not knowing makes the weeks preceding less anxious as you aren't 100% certain what day you're waiting for.

On the other hand, you start feeling like it could be any day which makes every day feel so long.

I would assume too that it's probably better for those who deliver sooner than the deadline and worse for those who deliver after.

Regardless of the imperfection, one thing remains great for the sake of the analogy: the anticipation. I'm like a little kid on Christmas, waiting for my gift to arrive!

quality or quantity?

It is no secret that Polly and I live on a fixed budget. Most people who hate debt do. So when Christmas and birthdays and such come along and people bless us with money and gift cards, we get a little excited. Aside from our small budgeted amount of fun money, this is the only opportunity we have to buy things we want. As much as we both love this, it has become clear to me that our spending philosophies are completely different.

Polly is the ultimate quantity person. When she gets money to freely spend, she saves it and uses it on a lot of little things she wants. She squeezes as much out of that money as she possibly can. Typically, she looks for good deals on clothes, scarves, shoes, etc. Regardless what she's buying, she wants bang for the buck. She doesn't feel the need to spend it all at once or right away.

I am the complete opposite. I go for the quality of the product. When I get a big chunk of spending money, I ask myself this simple question: "What item have I been wanting that I cannot otherwise rationalize spending money on. It's not a question of need, but a question of want. That being said, I do buy practical things I want. The first day I had a chance to make a purchase, I bought myself a GPS watch. As a runner, I've been wanting a GPS watch for some time. The one I bought was on sale (I'm no fool) and allows for me to track my speed, distance, heart rate, elevation, etc. It connects to software on the computer and graphs my runs for me. What runner wouldn't want one? That being said, I'm the one sitting with only like $35 of my Christmas money left. But at least I got something I couldn't normally get. I can use my small weekly fun money budget for the smaller things in life.

How about you? Are you the type that would rather buy a big item you want and can't otherwise buy or are you the type to stretch that money on a lot of little things?

why even ask the question?

Ok, so this is one of those quick posts that deals with one of my many pet peeves. This particular pet peeve is one that has bothered me for quite some time. I was reminded of it this past week thanks to a facebook status from my brother Jon.

Here was his situation: Jon was at work up in New Hampshire when someone stopped in looking for directions to a local ski mountain. Considering it was a ski mountain my brother has frequented (one I've been to myself) and that my brother lives in one of those towns where everyone knows where everything is and the quickest way to get there. Based on this knowledge my brother gave the gentleman directions without hesitation. Instead of simply saying thank you, the man responded by questioning the accuracy of my brother's directions. He said, "I thought the mountain was in the other direction..." My brother was just like, "If it makes you happy, go the way you think it is."

I mean, seriously?!?!?! I hate when people ask a question and then question its accuracy. If you're going to doubt the answer, why even ask the question? It's obnoxious.

Please eradicate this behavior from your repertoire if you find yourself doing it...thanks.

i'm going streaking

Being a sports fan, I'm inundated with streaks. The amount of streaks that are recorded is pretty ridiculous. Let me illustrate what I'm talking about. Within the last month, here are some streaks I've heard/read about while checking up on sports:

7: Consecutive games the New England Patriots have gone without turning the ball over. The old record was 4!

319: Passing attempts by Tom Brady withing throwing an interception. He just passed Bernie Kosar who had 308 for the Cleveland Browns.

297: Consecutive games Brett Favre started which ended a few weeks ago (thankfully).

25: Sidney Crosby just had this streak snapped last week. It was the number of consecutive games he had tallied a point. The record for this streak is 51 set by Wayne Gretzky.

This isn't even taking into account how often you might hear about a team's winning streak. I like streaks, but I only like records...even if they're only personal. For example, my longest streak for winning Spades on my cell phone is 35. Why would I know that, because I like record streaks! Let me give you some of my favorites:

56: Consecutive games Joe Dimaggio had a hit in the 1941 season.

21: Consecutive games won by the New England Patriots.

2632: Consecutive games played by Cal Ripken Jr. That's why they call him the Iron Man.

8: Consecutive championships won the the Boston Celtics in the 60s.

88: Consecutive games won by John Wooden's UCLA Men's Basketball club in the early 70s. This became news again recently when the UConn Women's Basketball team surpassed the number, bringing on the debate between the sexes.

What do all these streaks have to do with anything anyway? Well, I'm going streaking. Let me explain.

My record for most consecutive days posting a blog is 78. Now, I'm not crazy enough to believe that number comes close to the actual record which is undoubtedly ongoing. But, as I said, I like personal streaks. My goal is to surpass my record of 78! I hope you enjoying reading my blogs along the way!

new year's resolutions: 2011 edition

On January 1, 2010, I rolled out a new set of new year's resolutions. I titled my resolutions "building a better me." They included things covering 5 important areas of my life: Spiritual, Physical, Emotional, Relational and Mental. I listed them in that order to create the acronym SPERM. This acronym was a reminder to me of my biggest resolution which was for my wife and me to get pregnant. If you haven't seen my wife's basketball belly lately, let me assure you that I completed that resolution. Some of the others were iffy. I won't go into detail of all I succeeded or failed on, but I will roll out my 2011 resolutions which will look to continue building these 5 major areas. Here are my 2011 resolutions:

Spiritual - I resolve to read my Bible and pray every single day this year. I've never gone a full year without missing a day for one reason or another, but I have it in mind to do it this year. And I mean serious prayer time with God, not a quick 10-second checklist prayer.

Physical - I resolve to better my 2010 5k time. I want to get my mile down at least to between 6:00-6:15 by year's end. If I do run a marathon this year, I would like to better my time by 20-30 minutes. I also resolve to exercise at least twice a week, though preferably more (especially during training).

Emotional - I resolve to continue my growth in not being sensitive over certain things. I resolve to be slower to anger and slower to speak.

Relational - I resolve to continue to improve my contact with friends and family this year.

Mental - I resolve to read at least one book per month. I also resolve to blog every day this year.

I can't wait until January 1, 2012 when I can tell everyone that I successfully accomplished each resolution.

How about you? Any resolutions this year? Challenge yourself. Set the bar high so you improve yourself even if you miss the bar.

Be safe and Happy New Year!

reflection and introspection: 2010 edition

A lot has happened in 2010. Many people will be using today as a day of reflection and introspection. I am one of those people. I would like to begin by reflecting back on different events that shaped this year for our nation (and world). Then I will reflect on my own personal year before taking a more introspective look at my personal growth this year. I encourage each of you to do the same. Reflections Top 3 Top 3: The top 3 events from my top 3 categories that shaped our nation (and world) this year. I realize that big things will be left off my lists, but these are the ones that came to my mind.

• Politics

1. The economy continued to plummet while unemployment rates soared!
2. The country sat in awe as Republican Scott Brown won the senate seat left vacant by the late Ted Kennedy in liberal Massachusetts.
3. In contested mid-term elections, the Republicans found themselves back in control of the House of Representatives and closing the gap in the Senate.

• Headlines

1. America watched on as oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. Everyone seemed to have an idea of how to stop the leak. And for quite some time, no idea brought a solution.
2. The world watched on as trapped miners in Chile fought to survive and refused to give in to the conditions they faced for months. The world watched on as they were freed.
3. America found an unlikely hero in Steven Slater when he lost his cool in quitting his job as a flight attendant for Jet Blue. He slid down the emergency slide with a beer in his hand.

• Sports

1. We saw the Aints become the Saints! With thoughts of Katrina and the impact it still has on New Orleans, most of America (just about anyone living outside Indiana) was pulling for the feel good "who dat" boys. New Orleans shocked the football world by upsetting the favored Colts through guts (onside kick to begin the second half) and grit (interception of Peyton Manning to end the game) to win the Super Bowl.
2. The San Francisco Giants came out of nowhere to win the World Series for the first time since 1954 and first time ever with "San Francisco" across their chests.
3. The Celtics and Lakers had another instant classic match-up which saw the Lakers win the NBA Finals in game 7 at the Staples Center.

Farewell: We saw some celebrities pass away in 2010, including:

• Leslie Nielsen
• James McArthur "Danno"
• Tom Bosley "Mr. C"
• Rue McClanahan
• Gary Coleman
• Dennis Hopper
• Dixie Carter
• John Forsythe
• Corey Haim
• Peter Graves
• Andrew Koenig "Boner"
• Phil Harris
• J.D. Salinger

Odds and ends: Some other simple reflections of 2010

• Worst thing to come out of 2010: Vuvuzelas!
• Silliest, most childish feud: Jay vs. Conan
• Oprah bid farewell by doting gifts upon her audience in her final season

My life It's amazing how many things change over the course of a single year. On December 31, 2009, I... ...worked in Waltham, traveling 49.4 miles each way during a traffic-laden 1h15m+ commute ...had recently finished my first and as far as I was concerned only marathon ...considered myself my parent's kid ...dreamed about a day I would have internet on my phone ...had never won a team championship at any level in any sport or in any league ...had read through the entire Bible once in my lifetime ...had no clue what caused the women on the island not to be able to give birth On December 31, 2010, I... ...work in Northborough, traveling 28.7 miles each way during a traffic-free 30-35m commute ...recently finished my second and hopefully not last marathon ...consider myself my kid's parent (she'll be here soon) ...recently removed the internet from my phone and not bothered one bit ...scored the winning run for our team's softball championship (70+ team league) ...have read through the entire Bible twice in my lifetime ...have no clue what caused the women on the island not to be able to give birth (some things are admittedly unchanged) Introspection Obviously the biggest change in my life this year was finding out my wife was pregnant with our first child and working our way through the pregnancy. And undoubtedly the biggest change in my life in 2011 will involve the introduction and raising of that baby. I have grown in so many ways in 2010. My devotional and prayer life has improved. My patience has increased. My faith has grown. God has been good to me! How about you? Has your year been a good one? How much has changed? How shocked would you have been last year to see a snapshot of your life this year? I have no idea what I'll be amazed to look back at on December 31, 2011, but I know that I will be amazed!

tip of the week: amazon mom

Moving forward, I would like to make each Thursday a day where I pass along useful, helpful tips to my readers. Today's tip: Sign up for Amazon Mom Many people shop online in the modern era. And many people have found convenience in shopping on Amazon.com. I love shopping on this site. I've bought books, movies, cds and so much more from this site. Anyone who shops online likely agrees on its one downside...shipping and handling. Who wants to pay extra money for a product. Amazon.com has a membership service called Amazon Prime. For an annual fee (I believe like $80), you get free 2 day shipping on all orders. If you buy a lot on Amazon, this is a no-brainer I suppose. I am not that frequent a shopper, however. What I recently discovered (thanks to Aaron Schultz for the heads up) is that they have a membership program called Amazon Mom which is free. Contrary to its name, it is also for dads, grandparents, etc. It doesn't ask for proof of child, but for integrity sake, I would not take advantage of this unless I were truly an expecting dad (which they include in their description of who it's for). When you sign up for Amazon Mom, you get 3 free months of Amazon Prime, meaning all qualifying products (most) offer free 2-day shipping. For every $25 you spend in the baby store (any qualifying baby product...we purchased a toy box last night which counted), you get an additional month of Amazon Prime. Beyond that, you can save a total of 30% on diapers and wipes when you schedule their delivery. I believe all baby store stuff offers free 2-day shipping all the time, but every item (cds, movies, books, etc.) is free 2-day shipping while you still have accrued Amazon Prime eligibility left. Polly ordered a cd last night and it came this morning...no shipping charge!!! If you ever shop for a little one, sign yourself up for Amazon Mom (search for it in the google search bar) and reap the rewards!