Just another afternoon with momma....isn't she great?
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Tribute to the Oscars - our best pictures
Here, I think the filmmakers did a good job capturing the essence of siblinghood. This scene is filled with moments of ambivalence, comoraderie, protection, and playfullness. All representing, through a realistic lense, what it really means to be a big sister and little brother.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Gracie's directing debut
Gracie's first home video as director...
Gracie's second home video as director...
Gracie's second home video as director...
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Videos
Gracie sings for you. (She is so much like I envision Steph at this age it's crazy.)
Momma talks about the difference between the boys. Enjoy!
Momma talks about the difference between the boys. Enjoy!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Blessings
To say that our kids are the JOY of our lives would be an understatement. We marvel at them on a daily basis. We just have to pinch ourselves. Thank you, Lord, for blessing us with them. We ask for their continued growth, strength and safety.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
I don't even know where to begin
As suspected, the new year has been a challenge, moreso than I think we both expected. We've had an event-filled January that was darkened by the passing of Steph's dad. Although we knew he wasn't in great health, I don't think anyone expected this would happen so suddenly. He fell outside of his house on 1/2 and was immediately taken to the hospital where he bravely fought a broken leg and failed systems. In the end, it was too much for his body to handle and on 1/18 at 8:20, he took his last breath in front of his family. The passing of a parent is incredibly painful and difficult and something that only time can help soften. Stephanie and her family are doing as well as can be expected. We gathered for a celebration for him last Saturday. It was appropriate and a helpful step in the healing process, but obviously very sad.
I can't say enough about him. I've always looked up to him and feel a deep hole in my heart with his passing. In the coming posts, I hope to be able to articulate his impressions on me.
Everything else pales in comparison to this, but I would be remiss in not mentioning the other events, especially since it's been so long since my last post.
We witnessed history on 1/20 when Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. I was at home, sick with the stomach bug that we all passed around to each other, trying to get to Houston to be with Stephanie. My mom and I watched the inaguration in our living room while Stephanie listened to it in Houston getting the Acura washed.
Two years ago at this same time my Mema passed away. We were sick with a bad stomach bug and ended up passing it around to various members of our family who were at the funeral.
Last year at this time, Stephanie was admitted into the hospital where she would stay on strict bed-rest for 5 weeks.
This year followed suit with handing us extremely difficult challenges. The last two years have given us many blessings and renewed strength. We only hope that this year is the same.
The kids are amazing. I'll post some sort of multimedia record of them next time.
I can't say enough about him. I've always looked up to him and feel a deep hole in my heart with his passing. In the coming posts, I hope to be able to articulate his impressions on me.
Everything else pales in comparison to this, but I would be remiss in not mentioning the other events, especially since it's been so long since my last post.
We witnessed history on 1/20 when Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. I was at home, sick with the stomach bug that we all passed around to each other, trying to get to Houston to be with Stephanie. My mom and I watched the inaguration in our living room while Stephanie listened to it in Houston getting the Acura washed.
Two years ago at this same time my Mema passed away. We were sick with a bad stomach bug and ended up passing it around to various members of our family who were at the funeral.
Last year at this time, Stephanie was admitted into the hospital where she would stay on strict bed-rest for 5 weeks.
This year followed suit with handing us extremely difficult challenges. The last two years have given us many blessings and renewed strength. We only hope that this year is the same.
The kids are amazing. I'll post some sort of multimedia record of them next time.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Not the greatest update
Steph's dad is not doing well at all. She's in Houston right now with her family. Please keep Mr. Woodyard and the family in your thoughts and prayers. It is going to be a difficult time ahead.
Meanwhile, back in Dallas, Max got a stomach bug Thursday night. I got it Saturday afternoon. Nick got it Saturday night. Now, Gracie has it. I haven't talked to Steph since this morning, so I don't know if she's got it. My mom came into town last night, so I expect she'll get it tomorrow. My dad was also exposed, but so far so good with him.
Meanwhile, back in Dallas, Max got a stomach bug Thursday night. I got it Saturday afternoon. Nick got it Saturday night. Now, Gracie has it. I haven't talked to Steph since this morning, so I don't know if she's got it. My mom came into town last night, so I expect she'll get it tomorrow. My dad was also exposed, but so far so good with him.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
My day at CES
My CES planning began a couple of months ago when I found out the attendance fee for access to the showroom floor was FREE. I signed up, mixed with apprehension (that things wouldn’t work out with the other expenditures and schedule) and hope (that things would work out with the other expenditures and schedule). A week before Christmas, serendipity on our side, we decided that any obstacles in our way to CES would be crushed so hotels and flights were booked. We got a steal of a deal, thanks to our friends at Orbitz, and had a little less than a month to get ourselves ready.
CES is a show that one needs to get prepared for and a phase in the preparation is getting psyched up for the massive overload that the body will go through. I checked blogs (for leaks on the latest and greatest), studied the floor plan of The Venetian, Sands and the Las Vegas Convention Center (for planning purposes), created a strategy (don’t spend time on the TVs!), and got my leg workout on (for strenuous walking and standing).
I needed the full time to prepare because I have been juggling an ongoing pitch to a major retail chain, a huge proposal for a major pharmaceutical company, not to mention the holiday break where my wife expected issues related to work be kept at a minimum. Obstacles be damned. In the words of the great Bill Murray, I came, I saw and I kicked its ass. All relatively speaking, of course. I did my best balancing act and got through the holiday break and following week mostly unscathed. The stars, continuing what was put into motion a few weeks prior, were aligning and I was ready for the big show.
Enter US Airways, who almost crushed MY grand plan and minimalized all of the effort, both man-made and from higher powers, that went into this event. Last Thursday, the morning of departure, I learn that US Airways cancelled my flight (which coincidentally is one of the only flights out of DFW to Las Vegas) and couldn’t get me to Vegas any earlier than 6 PM CST. That would be fine if the show didn’t close at 5 PM and I didn’t have 3 small children at home with my wife, who was trying to make plans to visit her dad in Houston due to an unexpected medical emergency. I couldn’t go just to spend the night in Vegas.
After spending what seemed like all day on the phone with Orbitz, I finally reserved a seat on the same early morning flight out of Dallas on Friday. The only drawback to this was that I would have to make a day trip out of it. My original plans were to fly back to Dallas on Friday night, which would have given me two full days at the show – plenty of time, especially given my rigorous preparations. But now, I would be put to the test, flying up there just for the day. There’s a whole other element of Cearley-family planning that was working against us, but I won’t go into that. Needless to say, serendipity was quickly fading away.
Early Friday morning (5 AM), I headed to the airport with bells on. Even if it were just for the day, I was going to the best technology show for non-Mac loyalists. I modified my strategy (still no TVs) on the way up there so I could see all of the halls in the same day. I would start at The Venetian and The Sands, then make my way over to the LVCC.
CES + Vegas is the only thing that compares to the constant and reverberating noise of the 3 Cearley kids. From the moment I got off the plane and heard sounds of slot machines jingling, I didn’t have a moment of faint noise until I got back on the plane that night. The noises just kept building. First it was the slots and general airport hubbub, then it was the talkative cab driver, then it was The Venetian slots and hubbub, then the noise spilling out of the breakout rooms while standing in the registration line, crescendoing into the sounds of the showroom floor. I took a deep breath, asked my legs and feet if they were ready for this, and started walking.
I had pep in my step and as I walked by each booth, quickly scanned and observed the products and offerings to see if they warranted a deeper look. At first, I was overwhelmed with the number of bags I saw. Bags, as in backpacks, messengers, totes, purses – those kinds of bags. Apparently, there is a big market in keeping your computer and all mobile devices in an ultra-tight, ultra-protected, yet ultra-sheik carrying case. I’m a simple man. I appreciate those products, but don’t see the need in spending hundreds of dollars on something Swiss Army sells for less than $50. I was just amazed at all of the bags. I want technology, not fabric.
On I went to the other booths. I think the most impressive area in The Venetian/Sands was The Innovation Center where all of the different award-winning products in each category were displayed. This sort of consolidation worked in my favor as I could see a cross-section of many different “best of” products in one, relatively small, confined area. Thin and Green were the hot items this year. From TVs to laptops to speakers to washer/dryers to cell phones. Most of the showcased items were the thinnest and most environmentally-friendly products of the show. It was the perfect pre-cursor to the Mecca half a mile away that I could only get to by vehicle. The biting wind made walking impossible; I had to sacrifice a coat on the trip for my load/weight distribution.
Once I got to the LVCC and witnessed the experience of the first booth (Microsoft), I didn’t know if I’d be able to stick to my strategy. In fact, I didn’t know if I would make it out of the 100x100 space that was Microsoft. The most notable thing in this particular booth was the Windows 7 demo. From what I saw, this OS now compares to Mac OS X. The features, specifically addressing user convenience and experience, that Mac has always been light years ahead of Windows have now caught up. The browser offers a better experience and the Live Services suite (separate from Windows 7) I found to be cool and useful, particularly when a household is using multiple machines. Windows 7 also has multi-touch capability, so coupled with a touch screen monitor, you can create quite an experience. For use in the household, this can add a whole new dimension to family time.
Speaking of touch screens, one of my favorite booth experiences involved the Microsoft Touch. The actual hardware/software that is MS Surface underwhelmed me. First of all, I needed to sit on my knees to interact with it because the table sits so low to the ground. Second of all, they didn’t have anything resembling a cool app on the surface. I could rant for another two pages, but I’ll move on. The experience, brought to you by NBC Universal, started with a matchbook-looking box that housed a code (for the Surface to read) and a 2 GB MicroSD card/USB adapter (for downloads). Each attendee was instructed to place the matchbook on the Surface and then they would see a notification of whether or not they won the tchatchki of the day. If so, good for you, if not, you were then able to interact with any of the 30 or so touch screens around the perimeter of the booth to download your favorite NBC show or Universal movie trailer. If you can use MicroSD cards in your phone, you could walk away with instant, mobile multimedia content. This experience, although not more than 3 minutes in length, was the highlight of my CES day.
In the HP booth, I was able to interact with the TouchSmart desktop & laptop PC. Man, I want one of these for my house. For me, I love the idea of interacting with the touch screen in my everyday life. Most of us have touch screen phones and they are the best thing since pocket-sized phones. The logical progression leads to interacting with our personal computers in the same way. You might ask if we will even have something as large as personal computers in the future and to that I would present to you the new line of ultra mobile PCs known as ‘netbooks.’ I can’t help but think that these are simply large phones (without the ‘phone’ capability). These received a lot of press – Dell, Sony, HP & Lenovo all had versions. I was most impressed by the Sony model.
It didn’t seem to take long for the aches and pains in my legs and feet to inform my brain that finding a place to sit might be a good idea. Looking at my watch, I realized that half of my day was already over. I knew that I didn’t have long to fulfill my goal of walking all of the floors, but I had to find a place to sit. I sat. I watched people. Wheeling and dealing. Lots and lots of activity.
After my brief break, I got my ears blasted out by the loudest speakers I’ve ever heard, watched multiple groups of ‘everyday people’ vie for the title of ‘Best Rock Band of the Day’, missed the Angels and Demons preview by 5 minutes and almost threw away my backpack. If my dogs were barking at 5 PM, my back was screaming.
I walked the entire floor(s) at all locations. Mission accomplished.
It was time to go back to the airport. The cab line was only 30 minutes long which apparently is an indication of the relatively low attendance this year (in previous years, the wait was ~1hr). At the airport, I ate, watched the 3rd season of Weeds and won $15 before hopping on the plane.
Other than the plane shaking uncontrollably for the first hour of the flight, it was fairly uneventful. I rolled into my driveway at 12:05 AM. 19 hour day. I did it. My feet didn’t forgive me until Sunday.
CES is a show that one needs to get prepared for and a phase in the preparation is getting psyched up for the massive overload that the body will go through. I checked blogs (for leaks on the latest and greatest), studied the floor plan of The Venetian, Sands and the Las Vegas Convention Center (for planning purposes), created a strategy (don’t spend time on the TVs!), and got my leg workout on (for strenuous walking and standing).
I needed the full time to prepare because I have been juggling an ongoing pitch to a major retail chain, a huge proposal for a major pharmaceutical company, not to mention the holiday break where my wife expected issues related to work be kept at a minimum. Obstacles be damned. In the words of the great Bill Murray, I came, I saw and I kicked its ass. All relatively speaking, of course. I did my best balancing act and got through the holiday break and following week mostly unscathed. The stars, continuing what was put into motion a few weeks prior, were aligning and I was ready for the big show.
Enter US Airways, who almost crushed MY grand plan and minimalized all of the effort, both man-made and from higher powers, that went into this event. Last Thursday, the morning of departure, I learn that US Airways cancelled my flight (which coincidentally is one of the only flights out of DFW to Las Vegas) and couldn’t get me to Vegas any earlier than 6 PM CST. That would be fine if the show didn’t close at 5 PM and I didn’t have 3 small children at home with my wife, who was trying to make plans to visit her dad in Houston due to an unexpected medical emergency. I couldn’t go just to spend the night in Vegas.
After spending what seemed like all day on the phone with Orbitz, I finally reserved a seat on the same early morning flight out of Dallas on Friday. The only drawback to this was that I would have to make a day trip out of it. My original plans were to fly back to Dallas on Friday night, which would have given me two full days at the show – plenty of time, especially given my rigorous preparations. But now, I would be put to the test, flying up there just for the day. There’s a whole other element of Cearley-family planning that was working against us, but I won’t go into that. Needless to say, serendipity was quickly fading away.
Early Friday morning (5 AM), I headed to the airport with bells on. Even if it were just for the day, I was going to the best technology show for non-Mac loyalists. I modified my strategy (still no TVs) on the way up there so I could see all of the halls in the same day. I would start at The Venetian and The Sands, then make my way over to the LVCC.
CES + Vegas is the only thing that compares to the constant and reverberating noise of the 3 Cearley kids. From the moment I got off the plane and heard sounds of slot machines jingling, I didn’t have a moment of faint noise until I got back on the plane that night. The noises just kept building. First it was the slots and general airport hubbub, then it was the talkative cab driver, then it was The Venetian slots and hubbub, then the noise spilling out of the breakout rooms while standing in the registration line, crescendoing into the sounds of the showroom floor. I took a deep breath, asked my legs and feet if they were ready for this, and started walking.
I had pep in my step and as I walked by each booth, quickly scanned and observed the products and offerings to see if they warranted a deeper look. At first, I was overwhelmed with the number of bags I saw. Bags, as in backpacks, messengers, totes, purses – those kinds of bags. Apparently, there is a big market in keeping your computer and all mobile devices in an ultra-tight, ultra-protected, yet ultra-sheik carrying case. I’m a simple man. I appreciate those products, but don’t see the need in spending hundreds of dollars on something Swiss Army sells for less than $50. I was just amazed at all of the bags. I want technology, not fabric.
On I went to the other booths. I think the most impressive area in The Venetian/Sands was The Innovation Center where all of the different award-winning products in each category were displayed. This sort of consolidation worked in my favor as I could see a cross-section of many different “best of” products in one, relatively small, confined area. Thin and Green were the hot items this year. From TVs to laptops to speakers to washer/dryers to cell phones. Most of the showcased items were the thinnest and most environmentally-friendly products of the show. It was the perfect pre-cursor to the Mecca half a mile away that I could only get to by vehicle. The biting wind made walking impossible; I had to sacrifice a coat on the trip for my load/weight distribution.
Once I got to the LVCC and witnessed the experience of the first booth (Microsoft), I didn’t know if I’d be able to stick to my strategy. In fact, I didn’t know if I would make it out of the 100x100 space that was Microsoft. The most notable thing in this particular booth was the Windows 7 demo. From what I saw, this OS now compares to Mac OS X. The features, specifically addressing user convenience and experience, that Mac has always been light years ahead of Windows have now caught up. The browser offers a better experience and the Live Services suite (separate from Windows 7) I found to be cool and useful, particularly when a household is using multiple machines. Windows 7 also has multi-touch capability, so coupled with a touch screen monitor, you can create quite an experience. For use in the household, this can add a whole new dimension to family time.
Speaking of touch screens, one of my favorite booth experiences involved the Microsoft Touch. The actual hardware/software that is MS Surface underwhelmed me. First of all, I needed to sit on my knees to interact with it because the table sits so low to the ground. Second of all, they didn’t have anything resembling a cool app on the surface. I could rant for another two pages, but I’ll move on. The experience, brought to you by NBC Universal, started with a matchbook-looking box that housed a code (for the Surface to read) and a 2 GB MicroSD card/USB adapter (for downloads). Each attendee was instructed to place the matchbook on the Surface and then they would see a notification of whether or not they won the tchatchki of the day. If so, good for you, if not, you were then able to interact with any of the 30 or so touch screens around the perimeter of the booth to download your favorite NBC show or Universal movie trailer. If you can use MicroSD cards in your phone, you could walk away with instant, mobile multimedia content. This experience, although not more than 3 minutes in length, was the highlight of my CES day.
In the HP booth, I was able to interact with the TouchSmart desktop & laptop PC. Man, I want one of these for my house. For me, I love the idea of interacting with the touch screen in my everyday life. Most of us have touch screen phones and they are the best thing since pocket-sized phones. The logical progression leads to interacting with our personal computers in the same way. You might ask if we will even have something as large as personal computers in the future and to that I would present to you the new line of ultra mobile PCs known as ‘netbooks.’ I can’t help but think that these are simply large phones (without the ‘phone’ capability). These received a lot of press – Dell, Sony, HP & Lenovo all had versions. I was most impressed by the Sony model.
It didn’t seem to take long for the aches and pains in my legs and feet to inform my brain that finding a place to sit might be a good idea. Looking at my watch, I realized that half of my day was already over. I knew that I didn’t have long to fulfill my goal of walking all of the floors, but I had to find a place to sit. I sat. I watched people. Wheeling and dealing. Lots and lots of activity.
After my brief break, I got my ears blasted out by the loudest speakers I’ve ever heard, watched multiple groups of ‘everyday people’ vie for the title of ‘Best Rock Band of the Day’, missed the Angels and Demons preview by 5 minutes and almost threw away my backpack. If my dogs were barking at 5 PM, my back was screaming.
I walked the entire floor(s) at all locations. Mission accomplished.
It was time to go back to the airport. The cab line was only 30 minutes long which apparently is an indication of the relatively low attendance this year (in previous years, the wait was ~1hr). At the airport, I ate, watched the 3rd season of Weeds and won $15 before hopping on the plane.
Other than the plane shaking uncontrollably for the first hour of the flight, it was fairly uneventful. I rolled into my driveway at 12:05 AM. 19 hour day. I did it. My feet didn’t forgive me until Sunday.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Long time, no write
It is when things get to be the most hectic and busy that I should write more. Instead, I write less.
I am reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and the most recent reading discusses what researches have determined makes people an "expert." They have concluded that 10,000 hours (about 10 years) of continually working on a craft is the magic number to make someone an "expert." Strenuous practice makes people better and when you sustain that practice, over time, you become an expert. Now, I'm by no means an expert writer, but the practice thing is so true and I don't want to lose that. It's hard, especially with kids, to take time to yourself to do anything, let alone something as isolated and focused as writing, but I need to do it. Push on. I want to get back to something as close to what I was doing in NYC, writing every single day, even if it was just a couple of sentences. This forum must continue to be my muse.
There have been lots of goings-on over the past couple of weeks. Of biggest note, Steph's dad fell on New Year's Day and fractured his femur. He's been in the hospital in The Woodlands ever since. In fact, Steph is there right now. He's getting excellent care there, but it seems like once they diagnose one thing, another small thing comes up. I know it's frustrating for everyone and he continues to be in a lot of pain, specifically from his leg. It is now put back together; now, he's faced with an entirely new phase of recovery - rehabilitation. Keep their whole family in your thoughts and prayers.
Work has been crazy, after two weeks of vacation and hanging with the family. It's been a rough transition for everyone. I can feel lots of travel coming on through my work during this first part of the year. I don't know how I feel about that.
Today, I am resting with my mom and the kids. I made a day trip to Vegas yesterday to attend CES. Madness. On many levels. My body doesn't know what hit it. Legs and feet ache. Back is tense. Still tired. Hopefully, today (and this weekend) will give me time to recover.
I am reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and the most recent reading discusses what researches have determined makes people an "expert." They have concluded that 10,000 hours (about 10 years) of continually working on a craft is the magic number to make someone an "expert." Strenuous practice makes people better and when you sustain that practice, over time, you become an expert. Now, I'm by no means an expert writer, but the practice thing is so true and I don't want to lose that. It's hard, especially with kids, to take time to yourself to do anything, let alone something as isolated and focused as writing, but I need to do it. Push on. I want to get back to something as close to what I was doing in NYC, writing every single day, even if it was just a couple of sentences. This forum must continue to be my muse.
There have been lots of goings-on over the past couple of weeks. Of biggest note, Steph's dad fell on New Year's Day and fractured his femur. He's been in the hospital in The Woodlands ever since. In fact, Steph is there right now. He's getting excellent care there, but it seems like once they diagnose one thing, another small thing comes up. I know it's frustrating for everyone and he continues to be in a lot of pain, specifically from his leg. It is now put back together; now, he's faced with an entirely new phase of recovery - rehabilitation. Keep their whole family in your thoughts and prayers.
Work has been crazy, after two weeks of vacation and hanging with the family. It's been a rough transition for everyone. I can feel lots of travel coming on through my work during this first part of the year. I don't know how I feel about that.
Today, I am resting with my mom and the kids. I made a day trip to Vegas yesterday to attend CES. Madness. On many levels. My body doesn't know what hit it. Legs and feet ache. Back is tense. Still tired. Hopefully, today (and this weekend) will give me time to recover.
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