Thirty-Four

As of yesterday I’m 34. I thought I’d write a few things about what’s going on in life right now so I can look back at how life was at 34. I wrote this post here a little, there a little, so it’s rather random and needs some re-formatting but who has time for that?

Facts:

1. Life is made up of family, work and faith.
   1. Family is good. After nine years of being a dad, I’m definitely still trying to figure it out. I do good sometimes and poorly others.
      1. I’ve learned that raising good kids is all about consistency, self discipline and patience.
      2. Kids do silly things and silliness is to be embraced. I know this (on paper) but I have a harder time putting it in practice.
      3. Each of our children is different and has to be praised/punished/talked to/enjoyed differently. Sometimes it takes time to understand their love language.
      4. My favorite times with the kids are when I have the right attitude toward them. It could be in the van, at church or on the living room floor. It’s really up to me and my disposition.
   2. Marriage continues to amaze me. Twelve years into this, I still can’t believe how well it’s going and how lucky I am. It’s not always perfect. I screw up. I forget things. I say dumb things. But she’s willing to look forward and so am I. To me, marriage, like parenthood, is largely about altruism. The better I do at putting her needs first, the better off we are. She seems to always put everyone’s needs first so I just need to follow her lead.
   3. Balance is key. Like most people, I stay busy. It’s getting more and more important for me to prioritize my life and skip out on one thing in order to attend another. I’m still figuring out balance.
   4. Work is always interesting. I have now worked as a clerk/stocker (IGA), a landscaper (Cannavo Landscaping) a fast food monkey (McDonalds), a general fixer-upper (Pete Minuiti), a
2. I weigh 175 lbs.
   I seem to be able to eat/exercise just about as much or little as I want and maintain this weight lately.
3. I’m part owner of iGlobal Stores. I spend my days doing marketing, customer implementations, project management and planning. My job is cool and iGlobal is, after 3.5 years, still very exciting to me.
4. I’m all kinds of grateful for Katrina. We were reflecting last night that we’ve been together for almost sixteen years now. Sixteen more years and we’ll be FIFTY.
5. I love Cherry Coke, lettuce wraps, peanut butter M&Ms, burritos and (perhaps most of all) fresh orange juice. It’s schcrumdiddlyumptious.
6. I speak enough Spanish to get by and mostly understand and even more Portuguese (but I struggle, I’m rusty).
7. I have just a few gray hairs. Most days I can’t find any, even if I’m looking. Nasal and ear hair, on the other hand…
8. I very rarely play video games. No time.
9. I love my gadgets. DSLR, Smartphone, iPad, Macbook, etc. Can’t get enough.
10. I tend to sleep pretty well these days. I probably get 6+ hours many nights, even more on others and then there’s the occasional 4 hour night. Two years ago I slept a lot less.
11. I can fall asleep anywhere, any time. And I do.
12. I watch a few shows each week on Netflix or Hulu. I rarely watch live TV.
13. I listen to streaming music most of every day. I heart music. Lately I’m listening to a lot of LDS music but I also love Coldplay, Radiohead, Mumford & Sons, etc.
14. I do cross-fit four days/week from 6-7 am. I can’t see that lasting all that long, though.
15. I occasionally eat out for lunch at work but mostly it’s once every two weeks or so. I do a lot of leftovers and frozen food. We eat out as a family once a week or so.
16. I eat oatmeal, yogurt and not-from-concentrate orange juice for breakfast every morning.
17. I eat slowly.
18. I drive a 12 year old car with 219k miles and lots of “personality”.
19. I play the guitar rarely and write/create music rarely. I really enjoy it when I do, though.
20. I’m not much of a fan of winters.
21. I wear Acuvue disposable contacts that are meant for two weeks of use. I typically wear them for 2-4 months without removing them at all. My eyes are healthy and my vision had improved at my last visit. -3.0.
22. I don’t believe anyone should have holy socks or cheap toilet paper and I won’t stand for either in my home.
23. I probably spend from 10 – 20 hours/week at church or doing my calling.
24. I like ice cream a lot. Butterfinger? Oh yeah. Sherbet? Uh huh.
25. I still get very nervous in front of crowds (class, congregation, company) but I’m doing much better with it these days.