Seek The Substantial

On May 19th, sweet Puppy Dog Blue turned one year old and this is how they all celebrated.

On an entirely different the Mavs did what I feared they could not. I do not normally get too emotionally involved in sports, but with local teams it is one of my passions. Monday night we went to Brady’s graduation and I DVR’ed the game. When I got home Justin F. (and Miranda – I know, shocking) and I started watching, but I couldn’t watch each possession. I had to know what happened and I fast-forwarded through almost the entire game. The anticipation of the unknown was killing me. I thin I stopped with about 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter. As we watched I realized that this was one of my happiest sports moments. This moment has been commented on here, here and here. I do not think I’ve ever been so proud as a fan of a team. It wasn’t’ just that game, it was the entire series, it was drama every other night and it made me lose sleep and it kept me awake when I should have tried to get some sleep. It was incredible.

I hope that we can all relish in a moment somewhat like this. Whatever that moment is in your life that takes your breath away or keeps you awake thinking about other possibilities.

Taking in downtown Dallas. After we got done at the Dallas Aquarium we walked downtown a little bit and wasted time.

The Dallas skyline from the Farmer’s Market.

This is so fake it makes me angry. This is at the Dallas Westend, the most touristy part of Dallas.

Monica’s is a Mexican eatery that is absolutely delicious. I think Justin F. and Ashley F. introduced us to this place. Mexican Lasagna at Monica’s.

Talapia cooked real good.

Sea Creature (I can’t remember the name of this guy).

Aquarium Archway.

This is Miranda pointing out the little sea creature and explaining it to me, she’s so cute.

March of the penguins.

A good looking bird.

A number of aquariums depicting the sea life from around the world.

Monkeys.

Turtles.

Miranda.

Miranda and I.

After making breakfast for my lovely bride, Miranda and I started the day at the Dallas Aquarium. This has been something that Miranda has wanted to do for quite some time and unfortunately, it did not live up to the hype. It was nice and it was pretty, but there just wasn’t a lot to it. We basically ran through everything in an hour and to be quite honest, I expect a little more out of $15.00 per person.

An incredibly large alligator.

The artificial rain forest.

Much more endearing self-portrait.

South American Otter.

I guess it is tradition that you are supposed to eat some of the cake from your wedding on your first anniversary. I think that this cake only brings bad memories for Miranda as it was not the cake that she wanted, nevertheless, the cake was actually pretty good and if anyone wants a slice they are more than welcome to come by for a piece or six. We had a wonderful day which will be detailed in a couple of much larger posts in a day or two.

If you can’t wait for the pictures, most, and more, pictures are on my Flickr website. Just click the “PDB@FLICKR” button on the left.

If you’ve noticed, down the left sidebar I’ve added a couple of things. The first being the “Add to my . . . ” If you have a My Yahoo page then you can click on the link and you’ll be able to subscribe to the blog. You can also do this with Google or Netvibes, websites that have their own start page. There’s lots of neat things out there so that you can always be notified of a new post and I’m just trying to facilitate that. Not that you don’t visit this website every day, but it’s a convenience. Also, you’ll notice that you can subscribe by plugging in your email address and you’ll be emailed any new posts. I think this could really put Puppy Dog Blue on the map. Famous among dozens. Famous among dozens.

Ryan and TJ.

Flower arrangement at Marilea’s.

Mom’s cake, it was delicious.

Expecting mother, Darius and Dad.

The James Boys.

It was a really nice baby shower, I happened to see Blake’s parents at Target before the shower attempting to purchase a gift at the last minute. Miranda had attempted to purchase a gift in Mesquite on Thursday, but the gift registry was not working at the time.

It was really good to see everyone, I think the last time I saw TJ was Christmas. That’s not good.

On May 21, 2005 my wife and I tied the knot and as of today, it’s been one year. I cannot express how much my love for my wife has grown over the year. We have had our struggles, but the transition from single life to married life has been relatively easy for us. I love my wife more now than I did a year ago, so much of where we want to go, we want to go there together. This has been a very difficult year for us, particularly because of the loss of Rage, something I really don’t think I would have been able to pull out of for a long while without Miranda by my side. I absolutely love her, without any doubt or qualification, she is the person that I am meant to spend the rest of my life with.

Not so endearing self-portrait.

New dad getting a hug.

Incredibly out of focus picture of Brandon, Courtney, Stephen and Greggo.

Ashley F. throwing out gang signs.

Brandon announces the news, mother and baby are fine.

The gang was all there at the house cooking fajitas for Ann. From left to right: Miranda, Ann, Ashley F., Justin F. and Brady. As an aside, Randy was next to me as I was taking this picture.

This is Kweenie, my mother’s dog. She’s a really sweet puppy dog who is just getting old. More on lovable Kweenie later.

Jenson running.

Jenson and Jackie running.

Mother’s day was a wonderful success. It started out by going to church with Miranda’s family in Kaufman. And no, I didn’t burst into flames by being in a Baptist church. Next, Miranda and I went to my parents for lunch. We had hamburgers and everyone was there except for Ryan (working), Blake (stomach issues), and TJ (I think school, but I’m not sure). This was a really nice lunch, the weather was absolutely perfect and I got Mom a card with an I.O.U. I promised to help her in the fall whenever she needs plants to be moved into the greenhouse. I’m horrible at getting gifts and I hate getting cards.

Kweenie is an incredible sweet but incredible obsessive puppy dog. For years she’s been inside a backyard or a dog pen, as are most puppy dogs. Kweenie kept getting out and so Mom just gave up trying to keep her caged. This may have been the absolute best thing that could have happened for Mom and Kweenie. Kweenie now roams free and I believe that she’s happier now that she’s ever been. She runs, jumps in ponds, attacks turtles and when she’s tired she comes up towards the house and just rests. Mom doesn’t really have to worry about her because she knows that she’s not going very far. She should have done this years ago, but hindsight is 20/20.

Next, Miranda and I rushed to Home Depot to purchase a grill, one which I promise not to ruin. Then we headed over to our house and the insanity began. We started cleaning and preparing food and we just barely got everything done. I put the fajita’s on the grill at around 6:00 and I think we started eating at 7:00. Once again a really lovely time.

Needless to say, I was exhausted and I think I passed out on the floor at 9:00. Miranda dragged me to bed at 10:00 when she went to bed.

Monday night, I was once again exhausted and I went to bed at 8:30, missing the Mavs game. I know that being a sports person I have violated every code of conduct ever created, but work was incredibly frustrating day and I really needed to sleep to get away from my brain. Not to mention, my wife would not have allowed me to watch the 1st half of the game due to the Grey’s Anatomy finale. Today wasn’t much better. I keep thinking that maybe a day off here or there will really do me some good.

I appreciate the comments regarding the re-design. Maybe someday I’ll actually have my own website, that’s stuff of day dreams. In the mean time if there’s anything that you feel like needs to be added to either side panel, or perhaps certain categories should be moved to different places, then please feel free to comment.