more like mommy or daddy?

Today is a day we've had marked on our calendar for the past 9 months or so: January 12, 2011...our baby's due date! Will today actually be the day we've been waiting for? Only time will tell. Today we'll find out if she gets her timeliness from her mommy or her daddy. Her mommy tends to be punctual (and even early) whereas her daddy tends to be more apt to be tardy.

In fact, the truth is that Polly and I always wonder which characteristics she'll get from mommy and which ones she'll get from daddy. I think that's the normal thing for new parents-to-be to do. We've discussed which physical characteristics we want her to have. We've discussed which personality traits we want her to have. We've even discussed which sleeping schedule we'd prefer her having.

What does all this discussion and hopefulness mean in the end? Nothing. But it's still good banter to pass the time as we patiently await our little one's arrival.

If you've had children, have you and your significant other had similar discussions? Did any of these discussions mean a thing once the baby arrived? I want to hear what you have to say.

blessings poured out as showers continue

As recent as a few months ago, I was overwhelmed by the amount of stuff that a new baby requires. College and weddings may cost a good chunk of change, but at least you have 18+ years to plan and save. Baby's cost a lot of money out of the gate and you only really have 9-10 months of planning time. I wasn't stressed out (1. that's not in my nature and 2. my trust is in the Lord) but I was definitely overwhelmed by the thought of all the things we would need to buy. I mean, we had absolutely no furniture, clothes, diapers, strollers, etc. And all of those things add up financially.

Fast forward with me to today and we are all set with the furniture, we have plenty of clothes, we have a good starting supply of diapers, we have a travel system stroller AND a jogger stroller and so many other things our daughter will benefit from having. So, how did our situation change so drastically over the last few months? The most important words we can ever depend on (after God, of course): loving friends and family.

The main way our friends and family have been a blessing to us is through baby showers. With our most recent surprise shower (and probably most unique), we have had 5 such baby showers. Here's the quick breakdown:

1. Polly's mom threw her a baby shower in New Jersey in the beginning of November
2. Our church threw Polly a baby shower the first weekend of December
3. Polly's school surprised her (though I was in on it) with a baby shower a couple of days later
4. My mom threw us a baby shower in Malden the second weekend of December
5. My friends from my old work location (Waltham) threw together a baby shower of sorts just yesterday. They took a donation for a gift card, all signed a card and even had a cake (a gathering of people with gifts and a cake has to constitute a shower). The only thing missing at the party was Polly and me. They knew I wouldn't be able to make it but had a cake anyway. Then sent a good-size piece of the cake along with the card. Classic. For a change, I can honestly say I was surprised.

And all of this doesn't even count the other group from Waltham that pooled together to give me a baby gift before I left for Northborough, the numerous friends and family who have sent us gifts in the mail or when they've seen us, left over diapers friends with a young baby have passed along, the Christmas presents (including "coupons" for any one item from BJ's for each month of the year), or the lightly used items people have passed on to us. And that doesn't include the inevitable gifts she'll receive when she's born or when people come to visit (not that I think people need to do this, but I'm not dumb enough to not realize that many will).

Our baby still has a good bit of gift cards and cash leftover which will come in handy as she needs additional things moving forward.

And we take none of these things for granted! We recognize how blessed we are! We have prayed that God would take care of our needs with regards to our baby. It is no surprise to me that God has chosen to provide through the love of amazing friends and family. We don't take these gifts lightly as we know they have tremendously lightened our load. In fact, we are truly humbled by the love and warmth we've felt. And we've acknowledged something in the process: Our precious little one is going to be well-loved and well-cared for by so many people. She will have the opportunity to share the appreciation that I've felt for these people for quite some time!

these are a few of my favorite things

Before I begin today's blog I would like to point out that today is January 11, 2011. The date can also be read this way: 1/11/11...that's pretty cool. The only day this year that will be cooler is November 11 or 11/11/11, but we'll get to that when it comes. Anyway, onto the blog.

Many people have favorites of particular things, like a favorite color, a favorite food, a favorite number, etc. I am one such person. I've got a favorite of everything. In fact, I'm that guy who claims every movie to be my favorite if I like it and it's being discussed. But, even with that being said, I don't see the point in declaring favorites. Does having a favorite number mean you will have no use for other numbers, or having a favorite color mean you won't buy/wear things that are other colorings, or having a favorite food mean it's all you will eat? Of course not. So really, I'm not sure haven't favorites is so important, with the exception of giving fodder for an otherwise awkward first date.

Pointless or not, as I said, even I have them. So here are my meaningless favorites:

• Color - Most people who know me would tell you that my favorite color is orange. They would be correct. In fact, I've like orange for quite some time. I also like brown. When I was younger, my favorite color was green. I don't know how/why that should change. Regardless, I like earth tones.
• Food - I know it sounds cliche but if I was given the option to eat anything, I'd pick lobster. But if you're talking ethnic regions of food, my favorite is Italian, and it's not even close.
• Number - When I was younger, my favorite number was 26. Later on, I learned that this coincided with the jersey number my favorite baseball player growing up, Wade Boggs. I then went to the number 7 for a while, before settling on 43. My second favorite number is 17. If I create myself as a linebacker in Madden, I usually go with 51. Still, 43 is my favorite number. Oddly enough (pun completely intended) I have discovered that all numbers I have an afinity for are odd numbers. I think odd numbers are more asthetically pleasing that even numbers. I don't know how ore why that makes sense, but it's the reality of the situation.
• Movie - For the longest time, this was The Shawshank Redemption. Though I do still love that movie, my favorite movie slot was overtaken by The Dark Knight.
• Book - The Bible
• Book not named the Bible - The Lord of the Rings. I like all three books of the trilogy. I am looking to read them again soon. The Lord of the Rings is also my favorite movie trilogy and if considered one movie unit, it would be my favorite movie. Even now, this comes close to The Dark Knight.
• TV Show - Smallville. I love the story of Superman. And I love the show Smallville.
• Author - J.R.R. Tolkien. The guys was a genious.
• Spectator Sport - Football on TV and hockey in person, though I've never been to a Bruins game.
• Athlete - Milan Lucic.
• Famous person I've met - Ray Bourque.
• Restaurant - Red Robin
• Snack - Cheese of any kind

I think you get the point. These are a few of my favorite things. How about you? Do you have any favorites?

i'm running out of bookmarks!

I used to hate reading! My mother used to make me sit and listen to her read a book for school when I refused to read it myself. I would barely pay attention if at all. I was always annoyed at the idea that reading was necessary for me to get good grades in school. There were a couple of occasions when I was pleasantly surprised and actually enjoyed reading a book. The best example of this was The Outsiders. There were a couple other books I ended up enjoying, but that was clearly my favorite.

When I started college, I was shocked and annoyed to learn that practically all I had to do was read. Thousands of pages worth of books I had no desire to read. Again, there were a couple of exceptions like Israel and the Nations. But for the most part, I mechanically worked my way through books, hardly ever retaining the information from them. I would get through chapters before I realized I had no clue what I had been reading. I never went back.

As an adult, however, I have discovered that I actually love reading...it's just that I enjoy reading books I want to read and not books I have to read. So, since college (actually, during my senior year) I started reading books I liked. I read The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, true crime books, history books, and quite a few suspense novels (almost all of Harlan Coben's) among others that I've read. All this is to say that I actually do enjoy reading these days. But I have developed a problem that I need some help with: I am running out of bookmarks.

You see, my real problem is that I start many books, find my way through over 75% of them, put them down and then forget about them. Then, instead of picking the book back up, I start a new book. As a result, I have numerous books with bookmarks deep inside sitting on my book shelf. My problem is not that I don't find the books interesting. I put books down far before I make it 75% through if I don't enjoy them. My problem is that I refuse to restart a book, but don't always remember everything I had read before.

I mean, let's face it. Many of us can sit and say how much we enjoyed a book without remembering all of the specifics of it years down the road. I know I enjoyed those books and I know I could probably figure out what happened to the point I left off at, but I guess I figure it's more work than it's worth sometime.

One of my 2011 resolutions is to read at least one book each month. My question is whether or not I should grab all of my unfinished books and finish them before I grab a new one or just let them go or start them over again. If I don't make a decision, I'll have to make or purchase more bookmarks...

I cannot be the only one with this issue. Thanks in advance for any advice/tips.

are you ready for some football?

It's the most wonderful time of the year

With team jersey's selling

And everyone yelling, "The playoffs are here"

It's the most wonderful time of the year

It's the great-greatest postseason of all

Tackles for greetings with hard, intense meetings

When they play football

It's the great-greatest postseason of all

There'll be receivers boasting

And running backs coasting

As they find their way to the endzone

There'll be dramatic stories

And tales of the glories of

Super Bowls long long ago

It's the most wonderful time of the year

There'll be quarterbacks throwing

And legends' lore growing

When the playoffs are here

It's the most wonderful time of the year

There'll be receivers boasting

And runnning backs coasting

As they find their way to the endzone

There'll be dramatic stories

And tales of the glories of

Super Bowls long long ago

It's the most wonderful time of the year

The Colts and Peyton Manning

Won't be the last standing

The Pats will be there

It's the most wonderful time

It's the most wonderful time

It's the most wonderful time

It's the most wonderful time of the year

This is my favorite time of year in the sports' calendar. It beats out a close-second March Madness. Today is the kickoff of the NFL playoffs. The NFL playoffs is leaps and bounds ahead of it's college football counterpart- the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). The BCS has plenty of critics, including me, which I'll get to in a moment. But before I do, let me say that for all my issues with the current BCS system in college football, I still watch the major bowl games (not the foolish, money-driven named bowls featuring two 6-6 teams) and I'm typically entertained by them. I was on the edge of my seat rooting for TCU in this year's Rose Bowl. That brings up another issue that I'll address in a bit. Though, I'm entertained, I still come up feeling a little empty after the BCS is concluded. Not with the NFL playoffs though. They leave me feeling satisfied (except in 2007). That is why I love this time of year. It's time for the NFL playoffs, baby!

Issues that I promised to address:

1. The BCS has ruined college football for me. The BCS ranks teams based on two independent polls (Coach's Poll and AP Poll) and five computer rankings. The rankings take into account things like a team's record and strength of schedule. If I remember correctly, they've eliminated the margin of victory aspect, which was absurd to have ever included. That being said, it's an incredibly imperfect system. The two independent polls begin with a preseason ranking. So a team gets credit for pundits thinking that they should get credit...what?! Are you kidding?! Anyway, the two teams that the BCS decides are the best get to play for the championship. All other teams...out of luck. This is why college football needs a playoff system. There's a reason the Super Bowl is the most-watched sporting event each year. To show how stupid the BCS system is, let's look at how things would shape up if the NFL used it this year:

• The Super Bowl would already be arranged. The New England Patriots would be playing the Atlanta Falcons. As a Patriots' fan, I would love to see this matchup. But I'm not that big of a homer. In each of their 3 Super Bowl wins, I've enjoyed watching them overcome adversity and beating quality teams, proving they were the best in that given year. If the NFL used the BCS system, the Patriots would have only been eligible for 2 of their 3 Super Bowl wins, not to mention the numerous other teams that would have been ripped off.
• The Seahawks would not qualify. For all that's been said about a 7-9 team making the playoffs, I am of the theory that you cannot fault a team for what division they play in. The league goes through cycles. The AFC East hasn't always been so tough as it is now (with 2 legitimate playoff teams). I do, however, think that the Seahawks shouldn't have home field advantage...oh well.
• All other playoff teams would be randomly matched up against each other in meaningless games. Their chances at the Super Bowl would be non-existent. Assuming that teams all play to win the championship, these teams would have nothing left to play for.

2. I was so excited to watch TCU beat Wisconsin in this year's Rose Bowl. I always root for the underdog (unless my team is the favorite or a team I hate is the underdog, so maybe not always) and who's more of an underdog than a non-automatic qualifier? TCU had to fight hard to make it to the Rose Bowl. They had to finish the season with a perfect record to be considered. Wisconsin just needed to win their conference, regardless their record. This was that typical David vs. Goliath story. So, what's my issue? Well, moving forward, TCU will be joining the Big East Conference (under which definition of east does Texas fall under?) - a conference possessing an automatic qualifier (thus the reason for UConn being allowed to get trounced on national TV). I think this is counter-productive to what TCU accomplished. Basically if there ever arises a David who beats Goliath in college football, they belittle it by making the David a Goliath. At least I'll always remember that TCU was not in a fair fight and won! Also, I still think they deserve a shot at the National Championship.

Back to the NFL playoffs though, I'm looking forward to a great postseason. There are compelling story lines and a number of teams good enough to win it all (including all wild card teams). That's why I'm looking forward to a great 2011 NFL playoffs! I'm sure I'll be entertained, especially if the Pats win it all!!!

creature of habit

Hi, my name is Mike Brown and I am a creature of habit. There, I've said it. After all, they say the first step to overcoming a problem is to admit that you have one. I've known this character trait about myself for quite some time, but have never realized how wide a scope my habits cover. Maybe this has something to do with the fact that I have always simply rationalized it by claiming I suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). I have never been clinically diagnosed with OCD but claiming that it is responsible for faulty character traits is easier than owning up to and working to change them. Let me give some examples of my habitual nature as well as the effort I'm making to change it.

I'll begin with some common areas that I contest most people are habitual in:

Food

Let's face it, most people develop eating habits from their adolescent years. We all have our likes/dislikes. Many kids like to eat the same thing all the time. For example, I could have lived off hot dogs as a kid. Many people get accustomed to eating schedules. And when I bring up eating schedules, I'm not simply talking about the times of day we choose to eat (though most people do have breakfast, lunch and dinner around similar time frames). I'm talking about what we eat over the course of the week. For example, we almost always ate grilled cheese sandwiches on Sunday nights in my family. And we almost always had chicken cooked in some manner for Sunday lunch. In part, I blame the schools for this one. We all knew that pizza day (remember those small white boxed pizzas? I loved those) was Friday (or was it Thursday...regardless, it was a planned day of every week). It was in these formative years we were taught to get into a specific routine. Now, when Polly and I set up our shopping list we do it based on a similar system. Check it out:

• Monday - Soup & sandwiches
• Tuesday - Red meat night (a meal using beef, venison or some other red meat as the protein)
• Wednesday - Pizza night (usually frozen, but sometimes homemade...never delivery)
• Thursday - White meat night (a meal using chicken, turkey or some other white meat as the protein)
• Friday - Pasta night (a meal with pasta as the carbohydrate)
• Saturday - Leftovers
• Sunday - Leftovers

The actual meal itself varies, but the base is systematic. The habitualness of my daily eating up until and after dinner for Monday-Friday is even worse. Here's a glimpse:

• 6:45-7:00 - Breakfast: usually either eggs over toast or waffles with peanut butter with a half glass of orange juice
• 8:00 - Fiber One bar
• 9:00-9:30 - Banana
• 10:30-11:00 - String cheese
• 12:00 - Lunch: sandwich (either PB&J or turkey and cheese) and chips (usually pretzels)
• 1:30-2:00 - Yogurt
• 3:00-3:30 - Fruit (usually apple or orange or both)
• After dinner - Dessert: typically ice cream or cookies
• After dinner - Evening snack: popcorn and/or cottage cheese

The weekend allows for some variation to how often I eat, but very little variation to what I eat. The only exception to this is that I often eat a larger breakfast on Saturday and occasionally on Sunday. This usually includes either french toast or a full breakfast plate (eggs, bacon and home fries). This also means that our grocery list is typically similar as well.


And that's not even bringing up my habitual ways when I eat out. There are two aspects worth discussing relating to restaurants. Firstly, my being a creature of habit means that when I go out to eat, I typically go to the same restaurants. I don't step outside the box too often. I like Red Robin, Ruby Tuesdays, Fireflys and Chili's. It's not that I never go elsewhere, but I usually don't. Secondly, when I go to a restaurant I almost always buy the same thing. For example, it's a near guarantee that I'll be eating the Bleu Ribbon Burger at Red Robin. Occasionally, I order something else, but not often. I will spare you the details of my favorite meal at each of my favorite restaurants, but you get the point.

Cars

You can talk to many people who will swear to a specific make and/or model of a car. What's funny is that they're all different. One person legitimately swears to a Toyota while another legitimately swears to a Ford. This is an area that I was habitual in for quite some time. However, this is also an area where I broke a habit only to form a new one. I grew up around American cars. My dad swore by them. Here are the family cars I remember:

• AMC Matador (station wagon)
• Ford Aerostar
• Ford Thunderbird
• Chevy Nova (my sister's car)
• Chevy Corsica (my sister's car which she later sold to my dad which he later gave to me)
• Pontiac Grand Am (my sister's car which she later sold to my brother before it caught fire)
• Chevy (my brother's pickup)
• Lexus (my dad's only non-American car)
• Mercury Grand Marquis (my dad went back to American after a bad experience with the foreign Lexus)

So, when it came time for me to buy a car for the first time, what did I buy? American. I bought a Ford Taurus. There are two joking acronyms I've heard for Ford: Found On Roadside Dead and Fix Or Repair Daily. I found either to be accurate. This is when I broke the habit and vowed to never buy American again. Time will tell on that one, but for now, I drive a Subaru Legacy and my wife drives a Toyota Camry (her first two cars that died young were a Ford Escort and Saturn...American). I love my Subaru and intend to drive one for the rest of my life!

Miscellaneous

There are so many other areas of life that are common areas in which many people have habitual tendencies. People tend to stick with the same personal hygiene products and other such items. People tend to wear certain types of clothes or outfits on certain occasions. People tend to have routines when getting ready in the morning. People tend to give the same or similar gifts at any weddings or birthdays they attend. People are creatures of habit in many common areas of life.

The moment that may have altered my habitual nature:


I have been using Gillette shaving products since I started shaving. I've gone through the Mach 3, the Fusion and the Fusion Power. So, it occurred to me the other day that it's time for me to upgrade to the Proglide. However, we're in our budget crunch so I found myself contemplating downgrading in price instead. For this reason, I made a big switch and bought a cheaper Schick Quatro Titanium. I was very nervous to try a new razor. After my first shave, I was so mad...that I hadn't changed sooner. I love my new Quatro. I think it gives a better shave than any of my Gillette razors ever have. So, I was inspired. I thought about the High Endurance from Old Spice deodorant I've been using for years. Could there be something better? I bought Degree to try when I finish off my last couple sticks. I'll let you know how that goes. I felt so free to break the habit. Baby steps I guess. Maybe they will translate into me having a new attitude in the aforementioned common areas and maybe they can help me break my OCD tendencies in the following uncommon areas.

Uncommon/less common areas that show my habitual nature/OCD tendencies:

I think it may be easier for me to simply list some of my odd habits/compulsions:

• Equilibrium - I cannot turn around completely without turning myself back around the other way. It's like I'm on a string and winding around and I don't like the string to be twisted around itself. I recognized myself doing this when I was still in grade school. No matter how much I tell myself it doesn't matter, I will always turn myself back around. I was doing the "Hokey Pokey" with my nephew on Christmas Day. Every time I turned around, I turned back around to unwind myself.
• The Skin Squeeze - My siblings always made fun of me for this. My wife hates when I do it. I cannot control myself. I grab the skin on my neck under my fingernails. This is easier to demonstrate than explain in words. And it's impossible for me to try and explain why I do it...I have no clue why I ever started, but I've done it for so long.
• Facing the Same Way - Whether it's my clothes in my closet (which are arranged by type--sweaters, button ups, polos, etc.) or money in my wallet, I always need things facing the same direction.
• Everything Flush - I hate when drawers or doors are open and things are not flush with one another. A co-worker pointed out to me one day that I closed the drawers in the kitchen of our building's cafeteria while I was talking to her. I didn't even realize it.
• Same Order - I open programs on my computer in the same order every time. If something's out of order for any reason, I will close and reopen everything to fix it. My old boss used to intentionally change things when I wasn't looking as a joke. I never laughed. I always fixed the order.

Let's be honest here...I could list things all day. But I think you get the point. I am a creature of habit. And after reading my quick list of uncommon habits, I am re-convinced that I am OCD. I hope that changing my razor is a good sign of positive changes to come.

tip of the week: eft

As many of you know, I've been tightening my budget lately. I've been cutting unnecessary costs as well as working to reducing ones I cannot cut.

As I was looking at my auto insurance last week, it occurred to me that my past payments are always $6 higher than they were when they were scheduled. I have meant to check on that for some time, but with my number crunching at its peak, I finally made a phone call. I called my agent and asked if they knew what the deal was with the $6 increase when I pay my bill. It turns out it was a bill fee.

Before I move on to my discovery, let me speak on the whole bill fee thing momentarily. I just read an article on this practice last week, so it was fresh on my mind when I called my agent. Companies can actually charge a fee for billing you. I think this is ridiculously absurd. You are already paying for whatever service you're using, they shouldn't be able to charge you to pay for that service. What was even more annoying to me was that I pay that bill online so it's not even like they have to send me a paper bill (though they do). I think this practice should be illegal.

Anyway, most companies waive that fee if you sign up for EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer). The down-side with signing up for EFT is that you need to always make sure the money is in your account on the day the payment is scheduled. For me this is no issue, as I always schedule my payment for it's due date anyway.

After a few clicks of the mouse, I was all signed up for EFT and the $20/month savings that came with it (not sure why it came to $20/month...maybe they backdated it?).

Anyway, if you're looking to cut some unnecessary costs, I recommend you checking all the bills you pay and making sure there aren't bill fees attached. If so, you might consider signing up for EFT.