IT'S A BOY!!!

And so it is for my older brother, Kreg, and his wife, Angela. They welcomed their son into the world yesterday at 7:01PM. How very exciting for them!! Kreg called me at work yesterday and said Angela was scheduled for delivery at 5 and then I was on pins and needles until I got word of the birth early in the evening from Kortney. Kreg called again around 9 and we had a nice little chat and I was so happy for him. There was exhaustion in his voice, but I could tell he was happy and grateful that the delivery went off without a hitch. There is no name yet; Kreg and Angela want to bond with their son a little first before giving him a name that will follow him forever. I'll be anxious to see what they come up with. If they used Kevan, Patrick, or Anthony anywhere, I wouldn't object. Course if they named him after my father or one of our grandfathers, then there would be no stopping Mom's tears and Kreg's name would forever be written in stone in my parent's wills. It's exciting to be an uncle again and I am anxious to see pictures of the baby and find time and the courage to fly up and visit the new family. I am truly happy for them and continue to pray fervently for their well being, health, and happiness.

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I'm a bachelor this week. Kort took to the road with Mom over the weekend to PA for a few days. This is the first time I've been alone with both dogs for an extended period of time. So far, it seems to be working out well. I'm nowhere near as exciting and lovey-dovey with Weezie as Kortney is, so she's being a little glum while Kort's away, but she and I have our own bond and so it's business as usual. Due to some accidents in the house yesterday, I had to crate Weezie during the day today, which I hated, but didn't see any other way around. Kortney assured me she would be fine, and I am certain she will be, but I absolutely hate penning dogs (or any animal for that matter) up for long periods during the day. That's the Saint Francis in me, I guess. Evelyn has her first visit with the vet on Friday morning. That ought to be an adventure and I hope Kort will be back in town by then to help me with that trip. Ev's scratching a lot and shedding tons of hair and i worry she may have a skin irritation, although I did find 2 fleas over the weekend so that could be part of the problem. In any case, she needs to be seen formally by Gordon and her annoying scratching addressed. Other than that, she's fitting in great. She responds much better to her name now, recognizes what she's supposed to do when she's outside (make and do a poo), and isn't whining near as much as she used to. She jumped up in the chair with me for a few minutes last night and that was a break-through on its own.

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This is a short work week for me. I'm taking Thursday off and with Good Friday, I have the makings of a nice, long weekend. My initial plan was to get a ton of sleep over the long weekend, but exactly how much will depend on when Kort gets back, the dogs' schedules, social activities over the next 72 hours, and how much energy I have. I feel like I owe myself a trip to the bookstore to load up on magazines and books, so that could very well be in the offing for Thursday morning as a present to myself. We shall see.

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Ever since I smoked my celebratory cigar last night in honor of Baby Boy Sherbine, my mouth tastes like tobacco. Is this what smokers' mouths feel like all the time??? I would die. I thought teeth brushing and Listerine would take care of it, but alas, no. Hopefully, a hefty Arby's lunch will do the trick. I don't remember the taste lingering around so long when I used to smoke up back in my college days with roommates, but maybe it's because I'm older now. I don't know. Still, I enjoy a good cigar - just not the lingering aftertaste. Yuk!

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Nothing else to write so I'll end here.

90 Days

That's how much time we have until our lease runs out at the end of June. It's been pretty much decided that we will not be renewing on Yates Avenue for another year. For what we are currently paying, we could get a larger place with more space somewhere else. And we desperately need more space, especially with two active, young dogs running around everywhere. We like the house we're in now, sure. But there's a lot of maintenance that we've done ourselves that we shouldn't have to do in a rental. The back yard is nearly entirely dirt and that makes for a real mess when it rains or the ground is in any way wet or damp. I love hardwood floors, but I would like the next place I live to have less hardwood and more linoleum or whatever that's easy to clean and maintain. I would also like my next abode to have a back porch of some kind for wet/dirty dogs to towel off or whatever before entering the house. If the high traffic entrance and laundry room could be located somewhere other than right off my den, that would be great, too. No firm decisions have been made for now. We aren't sure if we're taking our show on the road or if we'll split up. Kort is still holding out hope that she'll get a teaching position in PA for the fall. I'd like that for her, too, since I know she really has her heart set on moving North. We talked a little about me going with her and that may be a possibility, depending on how things turn out. Either way, we are in for a big housing change in the next 90 days. I hate moving. UGH!!!
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Weezie made a trip to the vet on yesterday. She started limping really bad at the beginning of the week and so we had the vet look at her. It appears to be something with the soft tissue and not bone related, so that's good. She's got meds that she'll take and if she doesn't improve, then we'll have her in for an x-ray in a month. Not sure what she did to hurt herself, although I wouldn't rule out Evelyn's involvement, if not as the root cause then definitely a contributing factor. My dog is sweet, but she likes to roughhouse with Weeze and sometimes their play can get intense. Kortney thinks the injury stems from an old bocce ball entanglement last fall and that could be it, too. Still, we don't like it when the dogs aren't well. I myself need to have Ev in to the vet soon for her skin irritation and a general looking over. She's shedding hair like no one's business and scratching/licking/gnawing more than I'm comfortable with. She is also slow to eat her food and that's worrying me a tad, although Kortney says she'll eat when she's hungry. But I'm a worrier, so that's that.
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Cooper River Bridge Run is on Saturday morning. So rest assured the Charleston Sherbines will try not to be out and about anywhere near downtown or Mount Pleasant that day. Preparations are already under way on Coleman Boulevard and will only intensify until late Friday. The first sign the race is getting near are the porta-potties set out en masse at different locations along Coleman. Guess everyone needs to drain their bladders before setting off on the bridge where there's nowhere to relieve yourself until you get to the other side. Well, you could hang your member over the side of the bridge but I think the public at large and law enforcement would have a problem with that. As for the ladies, sorry, your parts are sorta internal and make hanging it out a dilemma.
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I'm looking forward to the short work week next week. We have Good Friday off and I've taken Thursday off to enjoy a long weekend in celebration of me. Next Wednesday is a Weiner Wednesday at work so that's something to look forward to for me in terms of getting out of the office for a few hours for part of the day and not having to wear business casual attire (which I HATE, in case you didn't know). I tried to get the day off Wednesday, too, but ran into a little snafu with that. Which I'm still a little bitter about, but slowly getting over.
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So, there is something to be said for change. Anyone who knows me knows I deplore change of any kind and that I do not react well to it in the least. However, change can be good and well worth getting out of the rut you've found yourself in. I watched the movie "Wanted" over this past weekend with James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie. Turns out, I really liked it. The last scene is McAvoy's character looking dead in the camera and asking, "What the fuck have you done lately?" What have I done lately? Not a damn thing. Maybe I need a change, too.