Knox William Tokarz

by Holly

Well, baby season continues…

My friend Amy had her third baby yesterday, January 24th, 2007. She already has two girls and didn’t find out the sex of this baby, so she and Andrew were thrilled to have a baby boy this time!!!

His name is Knox William Tokarz, little brother to Shelby and Jerzy. He weighed 6 lbs 10 oz and was 18 inches (I think!) long. Amy is doing fine and should be home Saturday.

Amy and I met my first week in the dorms at Texas Tech in 1996. She was living across the hall from me and Aimee (check out Aimee’s blog under H’s Buddies!). Amy and I have been friends since then and now live about 10 minutes apart, in Allen. She’s my scrapbooking buddy and a wonderful friend.

Congrats Amy and I can’t wait to meet Knox!!!

Lacking of a Rant

Lacking anything but cars and traffic to write about stinks. I want a new rant. Well I have plenty of rants, but most revolve around work and just wouldn’t make sense without the context. So what have we been up to?

Monday was THE ice day. We rebounded from that for a pretty mundane Tuesday. We spent the night watching The West Wing. Wednesday a mini ice day ensued. We got to come home from work, but it turned out to not be so bad. I think the meteorologists were being gun shy since they missed the last one so bad. Thursday Holly took a meal over to our friends that just had the baby and I met her and our friends at the rec center. Brian and I played racquetball. I stink to high heaven at it, but it is a very good workout. I will play racquetball for an hour, but get bored at trying to lift or run on the treadmill for an hour. Friday was a busy work day. We met some friends for dinner and I played computer games all night.

Now I am here.

Tomorrow we are going for a prolonged walk, weather permitting. Cleaning up the house a little and running some errands. Tomorrow night we are having a couple friend of ours over for dinner and games, so that should be fun. Sunday is church and relax. Next week we start it all over again.

That’s the update!

Ice Day

It is a cold and icy day in Dallas. We don’t deal well with this type of weather. I blame it on our ancestors; they rode horses and never traveled more than a few miles from the farm. As a consequence, we never were appropriately trained on how to drive a pickup in the ice.

By far the most annoying thing in the whole world on ice days are the people who just can’t make it to work. This morning, after my hour and a half 20mph drive to work, a coworker (who lives closer to work than me) called to tell me she couldn’t make it and would I tell her manager. I told her that her manager was here and I would transfer her. She was is utter shock that he was here and asked who else was missing besides her. I informed her that she was one of three not here, the other two living less than ten miles from work, by the way.

Well she just showed up, at 12:50. From the minute she walked in the door she has been going cube to cube to tell her stories of how bad the bridges were. She is making the rounds faster than a politician at a fundraising rally. We all seemed to make it across those bridges.

P.S. She has a 4 wheel drive car too!

Tour the State of Texas

Celebrating our western heritage:
Cut n Shoot, Texas
Gunshot, Texas
Gun Barrel, Texas

Need to be cheered up?
Happy, Texas 79042
Smiley, Texas 78159
Paradise, Texas 76073
Rainbow, Texas 76077
Sweet Home, Texas 77987

Why travel to other states? Texas has them all!
Detroit, Texas 75436
Colorado City, Texas 79512
Denver City, Texas 79323
Nevada, Texas 75173
Memphis, Texas 79245
Miami, Texas 79059
New Boston, Texas 75570
Santa Fe, Texas 77517
Tennessee Colony, Texas 75861

Feel like traveling outside the country? Don't bother buying a plane ticket! (Unless you are going to fly Southwest Airlines)
Canadian, Texas 79014
China, Texas 77613
Egypt, Texas 77436
Turkey, Texas 79261
London, Texas 76854
New London, Texas 75682
Paris, Texas 75460

We even have a city named after our planet!
Earth, Texas 79031

And a city named after our State!
Texas City, Texas 77590

Exhausted?
Energy, Texas 76452

Need Office Supplies?
Staples, Texas 78670

Men are from Mars, women are from
Venus, Texas 76084

You guessed it, it's on the state line..
Texline, Texas 79087

For the kids
Kermit, Texas 79745
Elmo, Texas 75118
Nemo, Texas 76070
Tarzan, Texas 79783
Winnie, Texas 77665

Other funny city names in Texas :
Beeville, Texas 78102
Bigfoot, Texas 78005
Buda, Texas 78610
Cactus, Texas 79013
Mercedes, Texas 78570
Nixon, Texas 78140
Telephone, Texas 75488
Whiteface, Texas 79379
White Deer, Texas 79097
Muleshoe, Texas
Loco, Texas

And last but not least, the Anti-Al Gore City
Kilgore, Texas 75662

Baby Season

by Holly

Well… It seems to be baby season in Texas. Our friends from Tech, Charissa and John, are the proud parents of a baby girl born on the 8th, Gianna Joy Ludlow. She was a little early but is doing great. Charissa is reported to be doing fine. For pictures and more info, check out their blog under H’s buddies. (That is pronounced GEE-ah-na).

Abbey and Nathan, friends from church, had their baby boy yesterday the 10th. His name is Jachin Rei Mulder and is doing good as well. Jachin has cleft lip and palate, but is healthy and there were no complications. Abbey is recovering fine from her c-section and is expected to be home by Saturday. (That is pronounced JAY-kin Ray).

Thank you all for your prayers for Abbey and Jachin yesterday. They were felt and appreciated. We hope that each of you are enjoying babies and new life in general as well. I’m sure Trey and Viki can’t wait to see their nephew!

God bless!

Here's Where I Am

By Holly

Although Justin has set the bar pretty high for this new year, I will try to be just as sensitive and gracious in my own soul-searching.

I ended 2006 in a tailspin, not knowing where December had gone. I spent 2 ½ weeks on a federal jury 40 miles from my home, which was both intriguing and exhausting. I am thankful for the experience, and for the kind judge and security officers, but I wish that it had come at a different time of year. You see, it lasted from December 4th to the 20th, causing me to miss out on the usual languishing in Christmas joy that I usually partake in. I don’t want to start out the year complaining; I did enough of that last year. I just hope that I can recover from the anxiety and caffeine-induced high that I was on, before it truly takes its toll on me.

So as I look forward to this season of both physical and emotional renewal, I have spent a good deal of time, as Justin has, contemplating what is truly important in my life. We have made a few observations/decisions/commitments together, but I want to share today my personal ones. Bear with me, as I do best with lists (you understand, Aimee!).

1. I need to simplify my life. This means limiting my church, social, financial, emotional commitments. I feel that the things of my life are all important and good, but too much of a good thing can still wear you down and distract you from your focus, mine being my relationship with God, and my marriage.

2. I want to be a more positive person. While our society as a whole, and me in particular, appreciate both sarcasm and good-natured ribbing, I do not feel that they are the most appropriate or Godly of ways of personal interaction. This said, I aim to use my posts on our blog to be either informative or reflective. Disclaimer: if you find me gossiping or tearing down someone’s character, please call me on it. I want to know.

3. I want to recognize and appreciate the blessings in my life. There are issues in all of our lives that seem to consume us and overtake any other semblance of thankfulness for the lesser items around us. While these issues are important and will not be neglected, they do not need to take precedence every hour of every day. This may be my hardest battle, and yes, I’m leaving it vague intentionally.

So that seems to be my short list for now. I won’t apologize for the somber mood, but will say that’s where I’m at today. And I will leave you with one last piece of food for thought…

My friend is having her baby today, her baby that has cleft lip and palate. This should be a time of celebration and extreme joy, however it is filled with anxiety, nervousness, fear, sadness, anger, frustration, helplessness. I could go on and on, and I won’t pretend to know what she and her husband are experiencing. I just tell you this to help you reflect on your own lives, to think about your own blessings and to thank God for what you do or do not have.

Happy New Year to you all and many wishes for happiness for you.

The New Year in Paradise,TX

Perched atop a hill, overlooking the tree lined valley to the west, sits my boyhood home. My parents bought this house close to 19 years ago. It is a home full of memories of laughter, crying, discipline and pride. A home like I want my kids to grow up in.

The nature of the beast of getting married is the inevitable figuring out of holidays. Absent of children, Holly and I alternate which parent we spend Thanksgiving and Christmas day with. This year we celebrated Christmas in Paradise over New Years weekend. I wrote extensively about my reflections over Christmas of the farm. While I have learned a lot on the farm, and have a deep respect for the rural way of life, I cannot deny that I am who I am because of the value and virtues of growing up in Paradise.

My dad would say that he is a humble man. I would say he is a proud man. He has a lot to be proud of. He taught me early on, mostly through action, that there is no reason to dodge hard work. He worked long hours, in every imaginable condition, to bring home a wage that we could live on. Rarely did he say no to reasonable requests, and even if it was a little out there he would explain why we work hard not to waste our money.

He taught, mostly by action, that you stand up for yourself but you don’t trample the people around you to do it. He work toward the future, but not at the expense of today. You think about every action and the reciprocal reactions. You love your family.

If dad was the provider, Mom was the executor. She was the one who worked to let the family enjoy itself. She freely gave or horded her salary to pay for the superfluous. She was the nurturer.

I have always been a moma’s boy. That is not to say that I wasn’t dad’s kid, but Mom and I always connected. She would put up with the random requests in whatever game I was playing by myself in my head. She would encourage and push, mostly in nonverbal ways, each and every whim I talked about. She was the voice of the wide open future.

This New Years, I reflected on family. The successes in life caused by two parents who chose to escape the city and raise their family in a small rural community. Parents who, for whatever reason, choose to nature and guide their kids towards far greater success through every means possible. Whether it was through feeding and raising the animals, figuring out the calculus problem or achieving the next merit badge, their non-verbal lives of discipline have made me who I am and will be.

New Years is a time of looking forward. I think you need to look back down the road traveled, to make sure the vision ahead is clear.

Christmas in Texas

On the flat open plains of Texas, where farming and ranching still are king, Holly’s parents have established a homestead. It is a place that seems removed from time. It is a place of peace, quite and stillness. It is a home filled with things that are hard to find in the suburbs of Dallas. grew up in rural Texas.

I count many of my virtues and who I am as a person based on this upbringing. It is one of many things that drew Holly and me together. It is a common bond that is understood; a common set of morals that are taught on and by the land. This Christmas, on the high plains of the Llano Estacado, I reflected and appreciated this more than ever.

Holly’s dad is a farmer and rancher. He is a man of tremendous virtue and hardworking ethics. His whole life has been in cultivating, nurturing and growing things. He might be planting wheat, nursing a new born calf or raising grandchildren, but he is always at work. His whole mind revolves around how to help other people and things achieve their best.

I have learned a lot on the farm. I ask Galen thousands of questions. Sometimes I trip him up a little bit and ask a question that is so blatant to him that he has to stop and think how to explain it, like “How does a windmill really work?”. Other times the years of experience let the answer roll off like poetry, “Is a feedlot inhumane to cows?”. He never dodges a question or gives you too much to digest. He never dulls it down or makes it too simple. He shoots from the hip, and challenges you to grow in your understanding.

My many days on the farm have given me a lot of firsts. I saw my first new born calf. I saw my first dead calf. I herded cows by pickup truck and sorted cows onto trailers. I learned how to blow dirt out of radiators. And most importantly, why we don’t wear sandals on the farm. This Christmas I learned how to ride my first tractor. In the truest of styles, Galen gave me an option, drive the pickup back to the barn, or drive the tractor. I picked the pickup, so did Galen. He made me sit in the seat, explained the controls to me and drove in a big circle. Three minutes later and he left me alone on a tractor for the next hour. “No time like the present to learn” is Galen’s heart for growing his children. Even though they might not be his own.

Holly’s mom is the epitome of a southern mom. Never a day goes by that a home cooked meal, with dessert, isn’t served in her home. Over years of childrearing and herself holding down a job, her kids always came home to a hot meal, with dessert. She is a woman of God. The church door swing, and she is there with a casserole and a smile to welcome you in. You walk into her house and her bible is on her bedside for her daily devotional. You stay through Sunday and you will attend her Sunday school class. She reared her kids this way, and it shows. Hers is a family marked by God’s blessings, and it shows.

This Christmas, she showed me how much love she really has for her family. Selecting everyone a perfect gift, favorite dessert and taking the time to sit and talk to each and everyone of us. She was busy, tired and sick but she didn’t let that spoil her Christmas with the family.

Christmas is special. This year I understand more about Christmas. How the farm makes it special, and how family makes the farm.

It was Christmas,
On the farm,
In Texas!

Waiting

I took Holly’s car to work yesterday for the one reason of getting her oil changed. The traffic was delightfully light on the way home, so I arrived at our normal oil changing place around 4:30. I put my name on the list and sat in my car, waiting for my turn to go into the bay. Around ten minutes later they still haven’t got to my car. They ‘invite’ me to wait in their lobby. Being a very nice day outside I decide to stand outside the store and call my grandmother. I hate people who have long personal conversations on cell phones in public. I was on the phone no less than twenty minutes when I noticed that my car had not moved. I looked at the car in the bay and they had it hooked up to a reader trying to determine why the check engine light was on. They were taking that teenage girl to the cleaners, changing her differentials, oil, filters, everything. Besides that I had been waiting for forty minutes with no movement whatsoever. I kindly asked the guy behind me in line to back up so I could get out, this is suppose to be a ‘quick’ lube.

I then headed over to get my haircut. I drove by my normal drop-in place to find eight people in the waiting room reading magazines and three people cutting hair. Not a good ratio in this place. Having lost out on all my chores for the day, I went home. I snuggled up on the couch and watched TV till Holly got home. What a waste…

Doing the Most Good

That is the motto of the Salvation Army. Every quarter my department tries to complete a charity event. Sometimes they are small, sometimes they are simple cash donations, other times we donate our time. Such is the case today.

The Salvation Army’s Dallas and National headquarters are really close to Dallas Love Field. Today we went to a local sorting house where all of the gifts give for the Army’s Angel Trees are stored and sorted. We spent the day double checking families bags to ensure all the toys were in the right place.

This event was very humbling and eye opening. We would see bags for an entire family with no donations or toys in them, although someone had picked their name off of a tree. We would see bags just stuffed to the brim, over flowing with everything imaginable. You would come across bags where the entire family was one child with an unpronounceable name, while your next bag would have eight children with very pronounceable names. Lastly you would come across one bag with three children and three boxes of diapers. It was a moving and worthwhile experience.

While I do not agree with all of what the Salvation Army does or believes, I can truly say that I full heartedly agree with their Christmas spirit. The next bell ringer I see, I won’t ignore.

One Word: P-A-R-T-I-C-I-P-A-T-I-O-N

A few lighthearted jabs at those of us who choose not to participate:

Armand – “So there I was…” not participating in the Blogging network I invited everyone to join

Ethan – “E”verywhere but here.

Jelaine – “The music in my head…” is not compatible with my Blog, obviously

Scott – “Scooter0979” has not Blogged since Sept1306

Andy – “The AB Show” is a no show

Amanda – “Wow! I can’t believe I am doing this…” well take heart because you aren’t

Tom – “OldGoat Ramblin’” must be inaudible, old guy, mumbo-jumbo

3:07 PM

Well that was going to be my last blog of the afternoon, but this is just so dang blogable.

The guy that sits to my back in cube world has serious sinus issues. It is so bad that he blows his nose obnoxiously loud at least three times a day. Some days more! It is so gross that sometimes you can hear the ‘obstructions’ move. Today, probably since no one is here, it seem overly loud. It is too much to ask to go away from your desk to do that? It is also interesting that we were in our 1.5 hour meeting and he didn’t blow his nose once. It is an issue or a habit?

Now I am done; or am I?

3:00 PM

Well this should be my last blog of the afternoon. I am heading out right before the 4pm buzzer hits. I hope you have enjoyed my return to the blogging world, even if only Jenise and Viki were the hourly winners! Thanks Ladies.

Have a great weekend and I promise more normal blogging will return.

bd..bd.bdddd That's All Folks.

2:00 PM

So I was so excited about my apple pie, remember? I finally dove in. I was looking forward to a yummy gooey mess. It turns out that the pie was stale and past due. The inside was dried out and the pastry was crunch. Major Letdown!

In my disgust I went to a friends cube to complain. I was in mid explanation when she interrupted me to tell me about her problems with tax provisions and how we are not adequately addressing the exposure drafts. Wait we went from apple pie to exposure drafts? Now that is the sign of a really bad afternoon.

1:00 PM

Well we are on the downhill slide into the weekend now.

A friend just posted all of her pictures to our Team’s Holiday Party. We had our party December 1^st in the Uptown district of Dallas. Now if you don’t know Dallas, this is where all the trendy people hang out. Holly and I aren’t that trendy. We both went out and bought clothes, just for this event. We had a lot of fun getting dressed up and going out, as we never do that.

The party was a good time. It was a culinary art school, so we had several stations open with both students and instructors cooking at all the stations. We had pizza, sliced beef, a soup and gourmet macaroni and cheese. Yeah you heard me. The student told me that the head chef likes to play around with simple things so he made up a big vat of macaroni and cheese. They served it to you in a martini glass and you had the option of adding several toppings including bacon, chalets, raisins, etc. Amazingly enough it was pretty good. Wash all this down with a hefty free bar and the night was a blast.

On top of that the CEO and President of SWA attended the party. In this first picture you see Holly and I with the President.
We also spent quite a long time with the CEO and his wife. After some general introductions and chit chat he inquired as to where Holly was from. After the ‘West Texas’ explanation Gary (the CEO) dug deeper. We found out that Gary started his auditing career on a client in Friona, Holly’s hometown. They started speaking about the CO-OP and the feedyards, etc. We left on cloud nine, having spent a good 20 minutes in one on one conversation with Gary and his wife.

This last picture is one of a gingerbread Southwest Airlines Boeing 737.

High Noon

I just spent the last hour and a half in a committee meeting. One of the great things about SWA is that the company as a whole is charity conscious. Our department hosts an annual tournament which benefits the Scottish Rite Hospital of Texas. I am the department treasurer so I am in the middle or helping run all the finances. My first meeting as treasurer was an hour and a half over pricing strategies. What did I get myself into?

No I am off to lunch, well not really. I am having leftovers at my desk. Meatloaf, potato salad and a regular salad are on tap. My good surprise was that I forgot that I get a Mrs. Bairds fried apple pie each Friday for breakfast. So when I opened my lunch box and saw it I was very pumped.

mmmmmm……

10:00 AM

I worked this past hour. It is amazing how you can stretch a 30 minute task into 60, isn’t it?

I was wondering what people want for Christmas. My mom is bugging me for ideas, but I honestly can not think of things I need or want. Maybe I should cut back ‘treating’ myself through out the year so I will have a Christmas list.

What do you want for Christmas?

9:00 AM

For the last hour I have been socializing. It seems that everyone is gone today. Out of 24 people in my office, I think I am 1 of 10 here. A super quiet day leads to a super long day. I will put my headphones in an pass some time.

It is super cold today. I think the overnight low was 19 with a high in the lower 40s. It may be winter, but this ain’t a Texas winter. Fear not we return to overnight lows in the 40s and highs in the 60s next week. Plus they are calling for rain, yipeeeeee

8:00 AM

Yesterday my audit was canceled. It seems someone else within the department had already completed most of the items we were going to do. That’s fine with me. The problem is now it is Friday and I have little if anything to do. With that in mind I thought that I would try to get back on the band wagon and blog every hour or so about what I have been doing this fine day (or whatever is on my mind at the time). So if you are having a lazy Friday day, check back often. Hopefully my experiment will work.

Verrrrummmmmmm

WHOA…. Did you see that? It was the last ten days. I better go catch it. I’ll let you know what happened as soon as I do…………