So I’m back to posting a little slower than I really wanted to. The last two months of this pandemic has seen some new normals pop up that have kept my brain-space from getting to writing on this site as much as I would like. I really did think I would get this built into a more routine thing.

But last weekend saw some big changes for Becca and I. First being a new car for her as we traded in her old Camry for a new Subaru Outback. I have to say, we’re both pleased with this purchase, even if we’re not really driving a ton at the moment. I kind of think it is a good thing that the first few months of owning it will see limited amounts of driving on it.

Some parts of summer could change that though as we’re trying to figure out how to replace our planned tripped to Hawaii in late July. None us of feel super comfortable flying right now, so being able to drive somewhere for a few days seems more appropriate.

The other changes are coming on the home front, with a new patio set that we put together on Sunday afternoon.

It is a small start for what will hopefully be more projects this summer at home. We have a window company coming by next week to potentially get those replaced. After that, we’re hoping to finally re-do our master bedroom the way we’ve always wanted it.

Small steps here. But good ones.

Let’s talk Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

I guess I should back things up here since I am kind of taking this Europe trip in reverse order of how we did things. This is Wales, the final stop before our departure two days later out of Dublin (more on Dublin later).

We stayed in a town called Llanfairfechan in Northern Wales. If you can’t tell by the photos above, it was breathtaking. This was a small town on the coast that had a beach and then a hike up a long hill into the main town. Becca and I loved everything about this stop and it quickly became one of our favorite places during our entire three week stay overseas.

One thing we did for the majority of this trip was use AirBnB for our lodging and our hosts in Wales did not disappoint either. The two men were a sweet couple that cooked us breakfast and really made us feel at home in their basement loft.

I personally enjoyed going to the town’s only open place while we were there, the local inn. There was a pub there that pretty much all the locals that would go there, did on that evening we were in town. They also treated us well and offered up a nice bit of hospitality during our couple of hours eating and drinking the local beer (of course I had some local ales, come on!).

Becca and I kept saying we would go back to this part of Wales in a heartbeat when given the chance. We would love to see it more in action during the summer months too. You could easily tell that it would be a pretty lively place in those warmer months of the year.

Alright, next up will be our stop in Liverpool. Hopefully I can get to that one here soon.

So, we’re at what…week six? Seven? At this point, I have no idea. Maybe it isn’t even worth counting the days or weeks at this point as that may only make me go a little more stir crazy.

What is new with me, Becca and Rigby right now? Not too much other than the fact that I bought a PS4 last week with a few games like FIFA 20 (man I forgot how much I enjoyed playing that game). Now some of my spare time is spent playing that.

I have also begun taking a little more time for my physical self during this time too. Now that I spend most of my days in our office doing work (which has basically been a daily thing, even on weekends), I am trying to be more diligent about taking 10-15 minutes to get up and do a short workout. Having no true gym equipment makes it tough but at least I have a set of resistant bands and small weights to get me through it. Also, there are a ton of videos online for short workouts without equipment too, which helps a ton.

What else…oh, this guy has been keeping us busy.

Lastly, we did a little social distancing drinking with our good friends the McClungs last weekend. We surprised them with some beer.

Okay, so where do I begin in this weird-assed time that we’re living in?

So today is April 8, we’ve been in quarantine for nearly a month now. We began this back on March 16 but really it was the Friday before, March 13. So yeah, nearly a full month of being at home nearly 24 hours a day. 

I’ve been meaning to write down my thoughts for the past couple of weeks each morning but work has been so time-consuming that I just get sucked into that world before I really do anything. Oddly enough this is the first week during this time that I feel like I truly have the mental space to really do what I am doing right now, writing. 

The first week of this experience wasn’t bad though, Becca and I got used to our at home set up. She stayed mostly in either our bedroom on calls or in the dining room where I set up a mini-desk for her with a spare screen. That week I mostly stayed on the couch. 

Things changed drastically in the second week as a Shelter-in-Place order was placed on Dallas County. I made sure to get a few things from my office to help me have a desk in our back room where Rigby’s stuff in. That has helped me out a bunch in these last couple of weeks, to have a space I can take meetings and get work done thanks to a second screen. 

The work side of things has been a bit crazy. Before this, I was actively looking for a new job and was excited that the new MLS season had just begun. My energy level was racing between the job hunt and the new season. Now it is primarily on the job I do have with HPUMC and staying sane around the house with Becca and Rigby. The ladder of which I think I’m doing fairly well at. 

Work has been super busy for me for a change. My normal busy really doesn’t hold a candle to what I am experiencing right now. Since everything is digital with no way for people to come together in person, a spotlight is basically shown on everything I do or touch. In some cases it is has been good, as I’ve been able to open up my creativity a bit more in this time. But on the bad side of things I’ve seen so much nit-pickiness from almost everyone that it is wearing me out. 

Right now I still have a big website relaunch project in the works, along with a reading plan for the next four weeks to build out in both web and out app. Some of that extra work is my own doing but I think it is for the best. 

As for Becca and Rigby, things are going as well as they could with them right now. I’m thankful that I’m getting this extra time with the both of them. Becca and I have been cooking and baking more together, which is always a joy. This time has really forced us back into some habits that we know we need to find a way to keep down the road when things go back to whatever normal is. We’re also finding good ways to stay sane by walking a whole lot more around our neighborhood, sometimes with Rigby but a lot of times without him. We’ve built three Lego architecture sets so far, with a fourth one on the way through Amazon. 

Another good thing is how we’re slowly cleaning up and cleaning out our house. Its like little by little we’re able to do more around here. Hopefully when this is all said and done we can truly get to work on these house projects that we’ve been talking about for what now, three years? Yeah, something like that. 

Lastly, since everything has gone digital these days, we’re doing a lot of Zoom, Google and FaceTime calls. Which has helped a bunch since we can’t be in the same room as anyone else right now. It has also gotten me thinking, why weren’t we doing this more often with some folks?

Okay this has been super helpful for now. Hopefully, this can be more of a habit for me each day as we go through this time. 

From time to time my niece Audrey will call us on FaceTime to read us a book. Last night Becca and I had just finished up dinner when we got a call on her phone from her sister Rachel (Audrey’s mom), it turned out that Audrey was calling us to read us a story. I love it.

As you can see from some of the photos, we got a little goofy towards the end. Not to mention we got an appearance from our other niece, Amelia. I loved it.

After four and a half years, Becca and I have finally…yes finally painted a room in our house.

This past Friday, we both took the day off from work to re-do our dining room. We had bought the paint back in May and had originally planned to do the room earlier this summer but that never happened. But Friday was the day. As I got the room ready late Thursday and began painting early Friday. We finished the room off midway through Saturday evening with some finishing touches.

Overall, I’m so pleased with the way things turned out. I do have one more painting to hang on the wall but I’m okay that that is all we have left.

Now on to another room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Saturday, Becca and I drove down to Waco, TX, for the West Virginia-Baylor game. This was an anniversary gift from her.

I never knew how high school-ish Baylor games were though. From the PA announcer to the band to everything else in between. It came across as a high school game more then a major college game to me. Hopefully once Baylor opens their new stadium next year, that will all change for them.

Also, what is it with Big 12 teams and hand gestures. Baylor has the bear claw, Texas has the long horns. I’m sure there are others out there. I guess WVU’s is just flipping people off when they try to show the state outline on their hand. Ha.

While the blow out score was not something I wanted to see, it was great getting to see my Mountaineers in person again.

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Pearl Cup in Richardson is a fun spot that Becca and I enjoy. Friday night we went out after dinner to enjoy a cup of joe. Tonight I enjoyed a Toasted Marshmallow Latte while Becca had a Cafe Mocha.

I always love how this place makes their drinks. I swear if they were on my way to work, I’d probably stop here most mornings. Thankfully for my bank account they are not.

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I love going to Oktoberfest each year now. Addison, a town just down the road from me in Richardson has one of the countries best festivals each year.

This year Becca and I went with some good friends of ours that we haven’t hung out with in months. Aaron and Sarah met us last night to enjoy some good beer, good food (roasted corn on the cob whhhhat?) and good times.

And yes we got photo bombed in our lone group shot. Ha

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I have to say, I can’t believe time has moved this quickly. Four years ago I said “I do” to my lovely bride Becca. Time has passed so quickly for the two of us but I couldn’t be happier.