Brooks Bytes...

Spring 2010

2010-05-01T11:34:00.050-05:00

After several requests from non-Facebookers, I have decided to update the blog. I apologize, but it's just so much easier to Facebook. The blogs are good for more in depth updates though.

This is the best our Japanese Maple has looked to date. The rest of the landscape around it looks bad because I don't work in it until after all the little helicopter seed thingys have fallen. I made the mistake one year of doing it before they fell. Then you have to deal with them after you've landscaped.

Let's see what has been going on since Valentine's Day. Caleb has really grown. He's wearing up to 6 month clothes now. He's really starting to develop his own little personality too. I took my first trip away from Kelli and Caleb when I went skiing out West at Sun Valley Idaho. Very fun but I missed my little family a lot. I had a lump in my throat as I drove to Nashville to catch the plane. The Easter Bunny came. Caleb attended his first art event when he went to see Gracie's recital last weekend. We planted Caleb's very own tree in our yard for Earth Day.

On a more serious note, I want to urge readers to stop and think about what I am about to tell you. I'll start out by saying that I don't fully subscribe to an external locus of control, but I do believe that some things happen in our lives for a reason. I believe God is ultimately in control of our lives, but making the right choice is important. That's why I put a lot of thought into things. How many times have you heard someone who continuously makes bad decisions beg God to fix something that they've screwed up? I don't think it works that way. I try to be as little maintenance as possible to the Lord. I don't want to spend much time on that topic, although, I have put a lot of thought into it. I actually wrote a paper on the topic in graduate school, and I still refer to it from time to time. One of the more memorable learnings I retained.

A few weeks ago, Kelli and I had a free Saturday. It was the first weekend we had planned to take Caleb to church after being away for nearly 2 months. We needed to run to Louisville to get her engagement ring inspected according to the warranty schedule and I needed to pick up a patio set for my parents. We thought about it and it would make for a long weekend for the little guy. We didn't want him to be fussy at church the next day.

I made the call: Let's go. We have to get used to doing multiple things with him at some point. I'll admit, I felt more than a slight hesitation in my soul about making the trip. We made the trip, and accomplished all we wanted. Ring inspected, dinner, picked up the patio set - and one very important thing happened while we were loading the patio set: Caleb took a nasty dump and Kelli had to clean him up in the truck as I loaded the patio set. Yes, it was frustrating because we were tired, and then, we had to deal with the crap. Before we left, Kelli asked me to throw the poopy diaper away for her so I took an extra 10 seconds to dispose of the diaper. An extra 10 seconds!

We started home. All was well and we were making good time. We'd be home by 10 or so which was about the time we usually start getting Caleb down for the night. Then, all the sudden, I saw glaring brake lights that immediately forced us to stop quickly on the interstate. We couldn't tell what was really going on because there were big trucks right in front of us. We were stopped in traffic for one hour and Caleb was very upset about the ordeal. He was fine as long as we were moving. Emergency crews showed up every few minutes.

Once traffic started to move, I realized there was probably less than 10 car lengths distance between us and the crash site. It was a very sobering moment as we drove by the crash and realized how bad it was. When we finally made it home safely, I looked on the Internet and found the local Louisville news coverage. Evidently, an SUV crossed the median into the southbound lane and hit a big truck (semi) head-on. There was a least one fatality.

The knot hit my stomach again as I realized that if Caleb had not pooped all over the place, and I had not taken the extra 10 seconds to dispose of it, the SUV could very well have hit us. We were in the left lane next to the median. I thought about that a lot over the next days.

Please try to be more aware of your surroundings, especially when driving. Try not to use your cell phones and especially don't text. I put my phone in the console and I use my Jabra Stone or the phone built into my truck (all handsfree). Even that is a little risky I think.

I could not imagine if we had been in the accident and Caleb was injured or killed. So when you are driving just try to take an extra second or two to think about the intersection or the lane you're in and look ahead a little. It might just save your life and make you a happier person because the people you love are also alive and well.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of late. These are sort of random, enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day, Caleb!

2010-02-14T19:05:00.007-06:00

I hope everyone has had as nice of a Valentine's Day as I have had. I can attest to the fact that I have never had one better than this one in 2010. As you know, Caleb is here, he's healthy and his Mother is healthy. He's exactly what I had hoped for, and once again, God has blessed me beyond measure. I try very hard to never ask God for something that I can do for myself or to ask Him for something in a vain or selfish manner. This included asking Him for a child. I had always prayed, "Lord you know my heart, and until I feel for certain that we are having difficulty conceiving, I won't ask You for a child". I meant that from my heart, God knew it, and I hope this will help someone with whatever they might be facing in life.

It began to look as though we might have difficulty, and, being a weak and ordinary man, I faltered. No matter how much Faith I had had at times before when I had prayed about this, I began to doubt that we would be able to have children. One day as I tried to pray, it came to me as though One in the room spoke right to me and said, "Just because it hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean there is a problem".

A euphoric feeling came over me for just a moment, and then, I immediately felt condemnation as I remembered what I had told the Lord once before about not asking him until I knew for certain we had a problem. I repented right then for the doubt and impatience I had begun to feel. I had created a problem that didn't really even exist, and I had allowed it to trouble my mind and spirit.

I hope this will help someone who may be worrying about something. Why worry? It's not productive, and until you know for sure that something is wrong, just be patient and try your best to serve God anyway. I know it's easier said than done, but I know it works because I've tried it out several times.

Kelli, Caleb and I had a most enjoyable day today. We just stayed home. Daniel and Allie dropped by for a little while, and then we had lasagna, cake and opened our gifts to one another. I gave Kelli a card and told her no matter what gift she gave me, it could not be better than the perfect son she gave me 3 weeks ago!

Have a great week ahead and hope to see you soon!

Caleb Scott is finally here: 8 lbs - 1.25 oz, 21" long

2010-01-25T23:40:00.023-06:00

I apologize for this posting. These are the very initial pictures and a few more I've taken that are my favs. I promise to take more and post them later when we get past the adjustment period. Thanks to everyone who has called, come by, commented on Blogspot, FB or in any way had a kind, concerning thought toward us.

First snow of 2010!

2010-01-08T09:21:00.013-06:00

Happy New Year!, everyone. I wanted to get my last post in before Caleb arrives, and I wanted to move beyond Christmas! I really, really enjoyed the holidays this year for some reason though.

The next post will most likely be baby pictures and maybe videos (thanks to my thoughtful wife who bought me an HD UltraFlip video camera for Christmas). It's so easy, and so cool!

Signs are continuing to point toward a little bundle arriving at the Brooks home soon.

Here are some pictures I took this morning - I wanted to get some pristine "snow" pictures. I had really hoped for some snow before Christmas to see how it would have looked at night with the exterior Christmas lights aglow. Maybe next year! Stay tuned!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T09:27:00.005-06:00

We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! All is well with the Brookses. Caleb is due on 1/26 so we're hunkering down for the next month or so - give or take. Enjoy the holidays and God bless!

We named our son...

2009-11-27T07:55:00.025-06:00

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. All in all, I can't recall a better one, but it started out not looking too good. Most people should know by now that I am a "DIYer". We decided to take down the fountain in front of our house for the winter. We usually leave it up all winter, then clean it up in the spring. Fountains are nice, they look good, and all that. We enjoy ours, however, it is constant maintenance to keep it looking good. In the summertime, I look at it and wonder - is it worth the hassle it takes to keep that thing looking nice. If it just sat there with no water running in it, most people probably would not even notice it. Being the purist that I am (such a burden), why install a fountain, and then not use it? So, I do my best to keep it running. Fact: Algae, scale, frogs, lizards, birds and leaves get way more use out of it than we do - I promise.

It went like this: I had just returned from Home Depot and was unloading the material to build a base cover for the main large lower bowl of the fountain that will remain outside in the ground. I saw my neighbor, Alan Talley, taking his dog for a potty trot. I had this thought to ask Alan to help me unload two sheets of treated plywood - I decided to pull a Kelli and did not bother him - all the while feeling like this was not a good idea. I hoisted the first 8' x 4' piece out of the truck. Just as I was about to set it down, the wind caught it, and it slammed down diagonally across my right foot. Ouch! It hurt, I limped, but I eventually finished my base which turned out much nicer than I thought. As suspected, I found out 5 hours later that I had broken the distal bones of the two piggies involved in that roast beef scandal.

So Thanksgiving Day ended up being pretty laid back with me being chauffeured by my wife, and not doing much. My tootsies look pretty bad though. We had planned to haul the Christmas decorations out of the basement, and get everything decorated. Obviously, that's not how it worked out, but we had a really nice relaxing day doing nothing.

We did manage to add another touch to the nursery, and name our son. We've decided on "Caleb Scott Brooks". After a recent Sunday school lesson, we both realized "Caleb" was on both our lists, but we had not talked about it. So, last night, we hung the glass floats you see in the window above, and then compared our baby names lists - striking out the final names and ultimately deciding on "Caleb".

Have a great holiday weekend! More nursery pic below...

Nursery mural complete...

2009-11-11T05:27:00.032-06:00

The mural is finished, and we are really very pleased. It looks even better with the furniture in place.

As I posted earlier, Lori James is the artist and she did an excellent job of translating our ideas onto the walls. She does not need my recommendation, but you won't find a more charming person to paint a mural for you. She's done quite a bit of work around here.

She did this in two days, and that's with me bugging her a lot - and I mean a lot. I was mesmerized by the process. It was a great distraction so now and again as I worked, I'd run in and take a peek for a few mins - well, several mins - I actually think I watched her for an hour on one occasion.

The scene that Lori painted is from Newport Rhode Island - specifically The Cliffwalk. You can Google it. I have worked a lot in New England over the years and one weekend, I went to Newport because I had heard of its really nice coastal homes. True, these homes are nice - very nice - in fact, they are mansions from the Gilded Age - the Vanderbilts built one of them that looks like a smaller version of the Biltmore if you've ever seen that (sorry Vandys, you didn't make our blog, but it's a nice house regardless).

Fast-forward a few years, I decided to propose to Kelli, and I thought, where would be a good place to do this. Immediately, New England came to mind because I love it so much up there. We actually got engaged on a whale watching cruise about 2 hours off the coast of Boston, but our first stop was in Newport. I wanted Kelli to see this place since it's not far from Boston - and it's so beautiful! When I was there as a single guy (like 30 yo), it was nice and I could appreciate it, but I never imagined I'd take the woman I wanted to marry there.

So, as we drove across the bridge overlooking this area (the one in the mural), Kelli thought it was beautiful. We spent the day in Newport and hiking the Cliffwalk - I think the entire hike is like 7 miles if you go to the end and back.

This scene is modified of course, we don't have miles of walls in the nursery, but Lori was able to capture the essence of the Cliffwalk and the coastline with some of our favorite homes. She worked from our photos and some of my interpretations/ideas - as well as some interpretations of her own. The house and light house scene on the right side, is one of those interpretations. There is a house on the point, but I don't think there was an obvious lighthouse in the photo, so I had her draw the house and lighthouse from a print in my office. Don't tell anyone!

If you get a chance to go to Newport, take it, it's well worth it. My favorite home there is called Anglesea - it's the second to the right of the Chinese Tea House.

We're going with somewhat of a nautical theme for the nursery. It's not too heavy on the theme though. My next nursery project is that I'm building a boat-shaped table to go along the left wall below the mansions. I think it will be cool. If it's not, you likely won't hear me mention it again.

Have a great week!

Fall into paint...ing the nursery!

2009-10-26T14:14:00.053-05:00

(View of our backyard from my office)

I really didn't think it was going to be a difficult task to get the nursery ready... I was wrong. I thought, "Our house is just over 3 years old, and all we have to do is sell the furniture that's in the room, buy new baby furniture and accessories and set it all up". Selling the furniture - no problem - it's gone. Buying the new furniture - no problem - already in the basement (other than I had no idea how expensive baby furniture is), They really know how to make you buy that stuff huh?

The problem started when I called Lori James. Lori is a local artist who is going to paint a mural in our nursery. I could make a complete other post about Lori (all good I must say), but I'll stay on task with this one. So, Lori says her murals look best on base paint with an "eggshell" finish. Most of the rooms in our house are painted in "flat" finish. So, I (correction, we) had to re-paint the entire nursery (ceiling & walls) in an eggshell finish. So, again, not too difficult - we chose to stay with the same color just the different finish.

To our surprise, Porter Paints had slightly modified the formula for Bassett Hall Gold since we painted in 2006. The formula change was not really a surprise because they told me that when I called to order the paint. I ASSumed it would be close to the original formula. Well, it's not! Surprise! It's not bad, but I must admit I'm not as pleased with this new color as I was with the previous. The finish is fine, it's the color I'm not sold on yet. Regardless, it's the color our son will be living with until he's old enough to know he doesn't like it. Then, he can paint it - it'll be a good learning experience.

We spent all Saturday, painting the room that will be the nursery. I think it will look better when we get the furniture/accessories and the mural in there. There are some pictures below, but let me explain this room somewhat.

This room is the bonus room over our garage. It turned out to be a huge bedroom upstairs. It has a large anomaly in the the ceiling that I think will be cool for a little kid. Our first thoughts were to do a Noah's Ark theme in the room and the large anomaly could be the bow of the ark, but we threw that out.

We are really excited about the theme we chose - it's from one of our trips. We took a (very special) trip, and I wasn't sure if Kelli would like it. As we drove across the bridge overlooking the area, she said this may be the most beautiful sight I've ever seen. I was satisfied at that point that I had made the right choice...this was the first stop on our engagement trip to New England in 2005.

My Baby Mama...priceless!

The end wall is the focal point of the mural, so it's supposed to look like that...

Mess I...

Mess II

Mess III and My Baby Mama...again, priceless!

DIY Network has been calling me to be their next Do-It-Yourself star, but with the baby on the way, I had to decline...maybe in a few years. I gave them Kyle Cassady's number, and they said "Thanks, but no thanks...but do you happen to have Audrey Browning's number?"

Now, where was I?

As I say, this room is a bit oddly shaped, but I think it will be cool for a little kid. We have a whole list of things we plan to keep from him so he won't know it's not normal...at least for as long as we can.

And, as you can tell, my posts are pretty boring, and few and far between so I'll save the finished mural for another post or you can just come see it in person.

El Caribe...

2009-10-11T20:10:00.070-05:00

Port of Miami

I read that when I found out my wife was pregnant, I was supposed to buy her a gift. We found out in late May, and I pondered and pondered as to what gift to buy. I want to officially go on record as saying that my least favorite thing about marriage is all the gift buying. It seems that I blink a couple times, and it's time to buy another gift. UGH!

In mid-July, morning sickness was in full force, and though we can laugh about it now, it was rough on Kelli. One particularly bad day, I thought - hmm...we can't really go anywhere right now with Kelli feeling like this. So, I booked us a 7 day cruise to the Eastern Caribbean for Fall break. This was my gift to Kelli and Baby Boy Brooks - even though he didn't realize it yet.

Leaving Miami on the Carnival Funship Liberty!

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas...this was a private island and it was really very nice. The water was crystal clear. Yes, that's me, the "white boy", floating in the picture. I was not white after 5 hours on the beach. In spite of multiple lubings of 30 SPF sunblock, I was quite red for the next two days. Still, a very relaxing day!

US Virgin Islands - St. Thomas (below)

San Juan, Puerto Rico - Old San Juan (below)

Turks & Caicos Islands (below)

I really do not recommend a cruise with this port of call on the itinerary. The waters beyond the shores are beautiful, and the snorkeling is nice; however, DO not "Discover" Grand Turk! Especially, do not pay for an organized shore excursion to Grand Turk. I heard from another passenger that the dune buggy excursion was fun.

Do not venture beyond the Cruise Center developed by the cruise line. If you find yourself being led toward the parking lot, turn back. Inside the Cruise Center, the shopping is nice and it's very new/clean. There is also a beach area, but it's very near where the ship is docked so it's not very scenic. If you can't avoid this stop, stay at the beach very near the Cruise Center. Even just beyond the developed beach spots - but still very near the ship - you can find nice conch shells.

If you can avoid this stop - I would.

Finally..avoid rogue cruise line photographers who want you to "pose" for the next Carnival glossy or at least get final say on the proofs!

Oh, almost forgot...still no baby name...Sorry folks!

It's a boy!!!

2009-09-09T18:36:00.002-05:00

Everything looked normal on today's scan. We are very excited to finally know.

Can't get this woman off my mind...

2009-09-03T07:41:00.005-05:00

Kelli is always on my mind, I don't make a single decision without thinking how it would impact her, our life, and now, the life of our child. This post has nothing to do with this basic fact.

Last week while on a business trip, I was jolted. It seems I don't get jolted much anymore and I think that's good - in a way. As we mature, things don't bother us as much as they might have when we are younger. We've experienced more in life, and we're just better able to handle things. At least that's how it is for me, and hopefully for you as well.

Let's face it. Most of us have it pretty good. I can't complain about one single thing, and you can ask my wife, I don't complain very much. However, I somehow seem to be able to find something to complain about or at least something for which to be in a bad mood from time to time.

Then you are jolted and you are reminded just how good things are in your life. My life is not perfect, but I can't tell it. What a wonderful thing to be able to say. I'll bet a lot of you bloggers could say the same, right?

So, I was in the gym working out, and as I walked over to get a drink of water, I saw a woman on the treadmill. Her back had been toward me as I was lifting weights. She turned slightly to her left, and I saw a horrible disfigurement on her face. I immediately looked away. I was morbidly curious as to what had caused this. Scenarios started running through my mind. Was she born that way? Was it an accident? What could have marred this poor woman's life? Obviously, I didn't find out.

After that, it seemed every corner I turned in my hotel over the course of the week, I would encounter this lady. Her disfiguration was much worse than what I had seen just on her left side. At one point, I was in the elevator with her alone. I wanted desperately to ask her what had caused this. I didn't, but it has just lingered in my mind continually.

She never spoke a word. She was very fit, her hair was nicely coiff'd, nails painted, nicely dressed, seemed to interact with her peers normally, but there was an obvious sadness in her face and in her reserved actions. I don't have more to say about her except that I was surprised to see her one last time as I was heading to my gate to fly home. She was several people ahead of me on the escalator, then she seemed to simply vanish after she exited.

I have tried not to think about her disfigurement, but it's been tough. I'm using this as an opportunity to remember NOT to complain about anything.

Scott

Titans vs. Bucs - 8/15/09

2009-08-17T09:01:00.012-05:00

My friend, Jeff, had two tickets to the pre-season game on Saturday. Titans won 27/20. It was fun!

Almost forgot...we made the Jumbotron - TWICE!! And if you think the camera adds pounds, imagine the Jumbotron!

Bought my Dad a new car...but not a Hummer!

2009-07-31T06:57:00.022-05:00

These pictures were taken earlier this month. Mom and Dad decided to ride to Louisville with us. We ate at Claudia Sanders Restaurant which is where the pictures were taken. Who knew the Sanders drove Hummers?

At first glance of this post title, one might think "Wow..how gratuitous...". Read on. I'm going to give my niece, Jessica, a run for her money in regard to LOB (length of blog) - maybe Teri too, but we'll see since I just started this one.

You'll likely see a lot more acronyms as I get more into this. I work in a world of highly over-educated information technology (IT) folks who have nothing better to do than to redefine their, and sometimes our, world making it more complicated so as to justify their worth to an organization. It's sort of like the US Government. I've worked with the US Gov as a consultant and I understand clearly why our deficit is 17 trillion dollars and growing.

I was working with this lady a few years ago - very much an ultra type A. She asked me a few questions to gauge whether or not I was worth her time, and then she bounced off and said, "Great, let's have a collaborative..". I sat down at my desk, laughed and sent her a meeting notice - not a collaborative notice.

When I decided to blog, I didn't want it just to be about the stuff I do everyday - you'd put a gun in your mouth. We live a simple life, and it would likely be very boring to most folks. Kelli and I often do things and love it while thinking - no one else would spend this much time doing this - hanging pictures is an example. It's a 15 minute geometry / algebra class before a nail goes in the wall.

I want this blog to be more about important things in life with a few fun things thrown in along the way. I'm a grave person, but I also like to cut-up and have fun. Kelli tells me often she had no idea that I was so funny, and it's usually after I've said something that I did not intend to be funny.

The first important piece of information is that Kelli had another baby doc visit yesterday, and all is well.

So, back to the post title. When I say I bought my Dad a new car, I didn't provide the funds to buy the car, I negotiated the price for him. My dad is 77 years old and he doesn't hear well. He's a good old soul. If you know him, he's a wonderfully gentle and soft spoken man. Very patient and very kind. My Dad is a very smart man even though he's not a very educated man. I think if he'd ever had the opportunity to go to college, he'd be a retired professor - that's how much he loves learning and figuring things out.

So, I found them this "cross-over vehicle" to replace their 11 year old Explorer with. The Explorer had nearly 90K miles on it. Mom was voicing her displeasure through the entire selection process. "There is not one thing wrong with the Explorer...", she said. Dad was all for it - as he usually is about any good thing that improves their life. And, why not? - they should use their money to make these golden years comfortable and enjoyable. Life has enough opportunities to drag us down.

This got me to thinking. They are from a different era - born during the depression. Folks born then are skeptical and I think we need to be a bit more like that too. My Dad has said, "I was born during the Depression, but we were so poor we didn't even know there was one...". We should be grateful even in these uncertain times.

Negotiating the car price was such a simple act that I did for my Dad and he was so appreciative that I had taken the time to do this for them. The entire selection process had taken a couple weeks and included, doing research as to how much the Explorer was worth, how much is the new car really worth, speculating how much the dealer will actually take, what are the reviews of the new car, is the car practical for a couple in their upper 70s and finally creating a spreadsheet of the final offer options that we presented to the dealer. Over the course of two weeks, I had put in quite a few hours time. However, seeing the pride on his face when we drove the new vehicle home, was worth every second spent. Don't get me wrong, I love doing research like that - I do it before we spend one penny on anything. And, by the way, Mom loved the car too when we got it home and she got to drive it.

So, after it was all said and done, and we sat at his computer checking the bank account online to make sure there was enough money in his account to cover the check he had just written, I noted how he asked the same question every time we did this. "I go to the Internet", I go to Favorites, I go to..", and he seeks confirmation every time before he clicks. "one click or two", he asks as he proceeds. Once on the web page, every time without fail, when I say scroll down or up, he rolls the wheel on the mouse the wrong way. I just sat back and chuckled inside as I watched his big old farm fingers clanking around on the keyboard - what a wonderful way to spend bonding with my Dad. Yes, it takes a lot of time each week when I do this type of thing with him, but then I think. Someday, I won't be able to watch those big old fingers blunder around on the keyboard or instruct him on how to do something that is as foreign to him as milking a cow by hand is to me. Someday, he either won't be able to do it or he will be gone.

I want to cherish every moment with my folks and I pray my son or daughter will take the time do do something like this with me when I get older. Spend quality time with your parents because they truly are gems of wisdom to our world.

Enjoy your weekend!

First post...

2009-07-22T19:13:00.002-05:00

When we found out Kelli was pregnant, it was totally different than we expected. We had been mico-analyzing every little symptom prior that could possibly be construed. If you've been through this, I'm sure you can relate. So, it was finally true and it was hard to believe. I noticed I automatically started thinking very differently about our future. Up to that point it was "..if you get pregnant...". Well, here is the reality. We've both been researching like fiends and comparing notes. I'm sure we'll burn out at some point, but right now, it's fun. I'm going to try to post a couple sonograms. The early one was exciting. I saw the little guy and it first looked like a rabbit. I held my peace. The tech said.."Well, that looks like a rabbit...". I laughed. The next capture looked like a shark (a little cooler). I spoke up this time and the tech agreed. The second sonogram was from the NFS on July 10 which turned out "...beautifully normal..." according to the medical professionals. This time, we saw an actual fetus that looked like a small person. He was moving around all over the place. We think it has my nose for sure - poor guy/gal. You can definitely see a profile. I told Kelli we're having a child that looks like Mr. Burns from The Simpsons or Schroeder from Peanuts. Time will tell... Hopefully, it will grow into that nose.

4 - 5 weeks (Shark)

10+ weeks (Mr. Burns or Schroeder)