I cannot believe how big she is getting. She really is turning out to be a wonderful little girl despite everything going on with her parents.
I miss her so much, and these parties only bring that point home harder, but the day was about her and not me, so we enjoyed it to the max.
Here is proof...
All I do it drive!
Now that Steph has a job that is full time, and she can't pick and choose the hours, we have needed to find full time daycare for Jack. Everything was great because Steph's sister, Joann, wanted to quit her job and be at home with her 1 years old son, Austin. Killing two birds with one stone, we decided that she would be the best person for our daycare, and she agreed as she wouldn't lose as much of the income!
The only trouble with that is that she lives in St Helens which is 40 miles away! Now I know what you are thinking. Why drive out there and spend the money on gas etc, when you could spend the same money to just have him locally in town? Well the answer, unfortunately, is two-fold.
First is that Joann is family, and we know that when Jack is with him there will be absolutely zero chance of negligence and abuse. Not saying there would be at a daycare, but Joann has a ratio of two kids to her one adult. At a daycare the ratio is more like 7 to one, and that ain't good.
Second, Joann gives us the flexibility we need. A daycare is 7-6 every weekday. No compromise. You're late, you get charged extra. Joann is flexible enough for us to call last minute and say 'Hey, I am stuck in a meeting, and won't be there until 6:30pm" and she'll be cool.
The driving however is not good. I spend 90 mins in the car going to her house, and then 90 mins coming back to work every week day. Then I do the same in the evening. That is about 160 miles a day. It also means I have to be up and out of the house by 6:30 AM to make it to St Helens and back in time for work!
We have worked out something now where we will pay her extra to meet us in the mornings. That will take some toll off me, and some mileage off the poor little car!
All in all though, to have our little man looked after correctly, will be worth it.
((((RING))))
** Pick Up **
"Hello?"
"Hi honey, this is Daddy, Is Mommy near the phone?"
"No Daddy, She's upstairs in the bedroom with Uncle Paul"
After a brief pause, Daddy says, "But honey, you haven't got an Uncle Paul"
"Oh yes I do, and he's upstairs in the room with Mommy, right now"
... Brief Pause
"Uh, okay then, this is what I want you to do. Put the phone down on the table, run upstairs and knock on the bedroom door, and shout to Mommy that Daddy's car just pulled into the driveway"
"Okay Daddy, just a minute"
A few minutes later the little girl comes back to the phone.
"I did it Daddy"
"And what happened honey?" he asked.
"Well, Mommy got all scared, jumped out of bed with no clothes on and ran around screaming. Then she tripped over the rug, hit her head on the dresser and now she isn't moving at all!"
"Oh my God!!! What about your Uncle Paul?"
"He jumped out of the bed with no clothes on too.
He was all scared and he jumped out of the back window and into the swimming pool.
But I guess he didn't know that you took out the water last week to clean it.
He hit the bottom of the pool and I think he's dead"
***Long Pause***
*** Even Longer Pause**
Then Daddy says, "Swimming pool??... Is this 486-5731?"
Yes, it's true.
My keg was set up successfully by Kenny and myself this weekend.
I now have endless supplies of beer at my house (Oktoberfest to be precise) that I can pour anytime. Steph and I had a pint of beer each with dinner last night, and it felt kind of good...not to mention it saved money on what it would have cost at a restaurant. That is my logic anyway.
The only down side? Well, let's just say, today, at Day One, I weigh an even 200lbs.
Stay tuned.
Whoa. Where did that come from?
I love Judge Judy. You know, that crazy woman on the Court TV show. Well, I have watched her show and she can be pretty out there, and very outsopken, but if you actually watch her show you will see that she is a pretty good, no nonsense judge and is usually right no the money when it comes to calling a duck a duck.
So last night she was on Larry king live and the subject turned to fathers in the US and how they are treated. Here is an excerpt from the interview:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHEINDLIN ("Judge Judy"): I was a lawyer in the family court for ten years. I worked for the corporation counsel's office of the City of New York. I prosecuted juvenile delinquency cases. I did support and paternity. So, I was in the trenches and even then, Larry, it took me time.
I remember the first day that I took the bench. It was in the Bronx and the court officers, if was pretty formal back then, court officer said, you know, say "All rise" and I stood up because I was accustomed to they say "All rise." We stood and finally the court officer said "You can sit down now, judge. They're standing for you. You can sit down." So, even when you have experience you need time to get comfortable in your chair.
KING: I had a judge who became a federal judge told me once that the hardest thing to decide was custody cases. First he had no experience. Who has experience with custody cases? He's been happily married, has children. Who gets whom? Isn't that the hardest to give a child from one parent to another?
SHEINDLIN: Yes. Sometimes it's relatively easy because the choices are clear but I've always thought in this country we do a terrible disservice to fathers. You know there was a time many years ago when we had what we called the Tender Years Doctrine, which meant children of tender years, young children, always went to their mother.
And then all of the courts in this country said that's not fair. We have to be equal. So, on the books there is a law that says no one parent is favored over the other, now that's honored more in the breach than it is honored in actuality. And, I have been a proponent for many years of there being a presumption in this country for joint custody of children. That's where courts should start.
KING: That's where you begin?
SHEINDLIN: That's where you begin and if you're going to deviate from that, you have to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that there is some valid reason why you're going to deviate from that because one parent is crazy, one parent has a drug problem, an alcohol problem, something's wrong.
But that should be the standard joint custody because children are entitled to be raised by two parents even if the parents don't get along anymore. I mean I think it's horrendous when one parent picks up and moves out of the state or moves 250 miles away and some judge in the family court, the domestic relations court usually if it's the mother who has moved away says, "Well, we'll have a hearing to determine whether it was the right thing."
No, no, no, no, no. You can't say to people who you've lulled into this sense of I'm equal, you're an equal father. You can take off paternity leave. We expect you to participate in the rearing of your children, to go to open school night, to be out there to play with them. Very often there are two people working in the household. They divide authority and you're equal except when there's a divorce.
And then, how often, Larry, I ask you the question, do you hear it quoted in the paper "He lost custody of his children"? You don't hear that. You hear "She lost custody. There must be something wrong with her."
Well I think that that has to change in this country because it was my experience in the family court, and I left the family court ten years ago, but even my experience on the television courtroom suggests to me that there are as wonderful a group of fathers out there as a group of mothers and it's about time that this country recognize that in not only the letter of the law but the spirit of the law as well.
I received this in an email from my buddy Neal today, and it made me think quite a bit.
Thought I would share it...
A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.
"Not very long," answered the Mexican.
"But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the American.
The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.
The American asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, play the guitar, and sing a few songs... I have a full life."
The American interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard, and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat."
"And after that?" asked the Mexican.
"With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge new enterprise."
"How long would that take?" asked the Mexican.
"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the American.
"And after that?"
"Afterwards? Well my Friend, That's when it gets really interesting," answered the American, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!"
"Millions? Really? And after that?" said the Mexican.
"After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings doing what you like and enjoying your friends."
And the moral is: Know where you're going in life... you may already be there.
~Author Unknown~
To all of us who survived the
1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !!
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. We even rolled around in the back of station wagons.
Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.
We did not have toilet seat protectors, if the seat was wet, then we wiped it off!
We had one TV, so we'd all watch the same show and it was fun.
POPCORN was made in a kettle on the stove, with oil and real butter.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Instant Messenger, Internet MySpace, or Internet chat rooms..........
WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We climbed and fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.
We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL! And YOU are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS!
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!
So last night was a serious humdinger. I don't want t trivialize what people in history have done, or take away from their greatness but yesterday I got a small glimpse of what risking everything is for when it comes to doing the right thing.
I have my daughter from 5 to 7pm every Wednesday (among other times) and I cherish that time more than anything. I do not get to spend anytime with her at all normally (in comparison to my ex wife) and so the time that I do get is important beyond words.
I consider my time with my daughter important for the whole family, not just for myself, and my wife should be included in that. Here's the problem though...my ex will not acknowledge her existence in Naomi's life at all. I have been asking for over a year now to have my wife added to the pick up list so that she can pick up my daughter. The reason being that if she can pick her up on Wednesdays at 5pm when I get off work, then I can meet her at the house and end up spending more time with my daughter, instead of sometimes spending an hour simply driving to the daycare to pick her up.
Here is the flip side...my ex's boyfriend is on every pick up list and is allowed to spend as much time picking up and dropping off from daycare as possible. It is simply a control issue with my wife that she needs to have to make herself feel better. So, boyfriend: yes, legal step-mother: no.
So I went to return Naomi at the allotted time last night and as I pulled up to my wife's house I noticed her car wasn't there. When I knocked on the door I was told by her boyfriend that she wasn't there and wasn't expected back until later that night at 10pm.
To cut a long story short, I ended up driving home with Naomi and putting her to bed at my house. The rationale that I used was that if my ex wasn't going to recognize my current wife as a part of Naomi's life, then I certainly wasn't going to recognize her boyfriend. All hell broke loose when she was finished with her appointment, and she threatened me with the police, and I was kidnapping my daughter etc, but I stood my ground, and was fully supported by my wife and my good friend Neal who I called as a sounding board.
I was soooo nervous that the cops were going to be called, but I can honestly tell you I have never felt more 'in the right' in my whole life as I felt last night. It was a liberating don't-fuck-with-my-family-anymore-bitch type of moment that felt great. If needed, I would have gone to jail for it, too. I even called my lawyer when I got home to let him know what I had done.
Below is the email that I sent to my ex last night to explain what I had done...it will make sense when you read it. I have taken out the names to 'protect the innocent' even though I should leave her's in:
-------------------
Dear MY EX,
I wanted to write this email to you for several reasons.
1) I want to document the time I am sending it. It is 9:25pm on Wednesday, September 28th, 2005.
2) I trust your boyfriend, HIS NAME, 110% with MY DAUGHTER'S safety and well being. He and I actually spoke for 15 minutes tonight on the phone.
3) I am assuming by the time you actually read this we will have already interacted by phone and/or in person, but I need to document what I am doing and why, and the time I am doing it.
I have repeatedly, for over a year now, requested that my wife, HER NAME be added to the daycare pick up list. To this day she has not been added, and is not allowed to pick her up. You have yet to come up with a valid reason why she is not on the list, but your boyfriend, HIS NAME is. The only reason you give is that you claim I am not there when it is MY PARENTING time. I have never looked at things as mine or yours as individuals. I think it is our time (me and MY WIFE) and your time (you and YOUR BOYFRIEND). We both have separate families and MY DAUGHTER loves them equally.
You cite ONE time for your reasoning behind MY WIFE not being added, and that was when she went to pick MY DAUGHTER up for TWO hours on "my" regularly scheduled Wednesday, while I was in New York on business. To me, this was perfectly acceptable. She is her step mother and should be allowed to bond with her as much as YOUR BOYFRIEND does. MY DAUGHTER also has a brother here now so the bond is multiplied. I am there for parenting time 99.9% of the time when work allows. My schedule and flights can, if needed, attest to that.
Nevertheless you refuse to acknowledge MY WIFE as any part of MY DAUGHTER'S life that can be trusted. I ask you time and time again for a reason and you cite one example (the NYC trip) which is a terrible injustice to not only <
When I returned at 8pm tonight (I had her for an extra hour as she was sick last week and I never had her, remember) you were not present at the house. I noticed your Suburban was not out front where it normally was. I walked to the steps (MY DAUGHTER remained in the car) and I asked YOUR BOYFRIEND where you were, and he said you were out. Upon inquiring what time you were scheduled to be back, he said 10pm. I simply told him that that was fine and I was leaving with MY DAUGHTER and I would be back later.
Upon further thought on the drive home, and after talking with YOUR BOYFRIEND regarding this matter, and the fact that her bedtime is at 9pm, HE stressed that she needed to be in bed by 9pm. I know that, as that is what time she goes to bed when she stays here. With that said, and the fact that you would not see her anyway when you came home (why wake her up) I decided that she should stay the night here. I will have her at daycare at 8am tomorrow morning as I assume she usually is. "In the best interest of the child" is the phrase of the day, and one I believe in. MY DAUGHTER was actually excited about spending the night here tonight, and is in bed already while I am writing this. If you wish to come and get her out of bed, you may as it is technically 'your' time now, but in the best interest of the child I think it would be better that she stays here for the night and goes from there.
So why am I doing this, you ask?
Well the long and the short of it is rather simple: I am going to start playing by YOUR rules.
I need to make a stand. Not a personal crusade...just a chance at equality for my family with MY DAUGHTER. Trust me, driving away from your house was very nerve-racking for me. My heart was pounding, and I felt bad for YOUR BOYFRIEND, too. But I have my reasons:
Your treatment and alienation of my wife is ridiculous in my eyes. I have never alienated YOUR BOYFRIEND, and have, indeed, encouraged the fact that he is a part of MY DAUGHTER'S life with her. I have returned MY DAUGHTER multiple times to him when he was the only one in the house, and would not have a problem doing so as I trust him. Your previous job at A RETAIL STORE had you working many, many evenings and YOUR BOYFRIEND had plenty of parenting time with her. Did I bat an eyelid? No. I simply returned my daughter to him while it was, in YOUR own words, YOUR parenting time.
You have no idea how upsetting this double standard is. If you even want to play the 'legal card' which you so often do, MY WIFE has a LEGAL bond with MY DAUGHTER (being her legal step mother) that YOUR BOYFRIEND does not have. This is irrelevant in my eyes, but further supports, I believe, my case that MY WIFE should be added to the list.
My last point is this: This will not be a regular thing. Unless I am told otherwise by the court, I will abide by your rules. If you are home I will return MY DAUGHTER to you at the scheduled time. Every time. I will however, not acknowledge YOUR BOYFRIEND as a guardian of MY DAUGHTER, until you begin acknowledging MY WIFE.
Simon
We had a blast this weekend at our really good friends' wedding. Kimber and Ryan (finally!) got married and had a fantastic wedding and reception. Word to the wise: always, always have a no-cash bar at a wedding reception! We had such a great time, and we took the opportunity to use the night as a date-night and drop off the kids at 'Aunty Jo's' house.
Anyway, the whole night was great and we had a hotel too (thank you, Tracy!!) so we were really able to get away from it all.
Steph got absolutely wasted which was much needed for her. She hasn't got that drunk since before we got pregnant, and so she was a VERY cheap date. She started on the vodka and cokes, and a few hours and 8 drinks later, she was in great spirits. She wasn't the only one, though, as it seemed like our little huddle of friends who were there all had a great time ploughing down the drinks.
The good news was that I had a camera with me, and remained fairly sober as I had to drive, so was able to record the event. Enjoy!
Let's at least start with the happy couple...Kimber truely looked gorgeous and Ryan looked like a stud in his gear, too.
...and now the other happy couple.
All the girls together. From left: Autumn, Besty, Steph, and Darla.
This is what heaven looks like. Or Florida. Greg and Doug. 
Okay, big group shot: L - R: Erin, Betsy, Jennifer, Travis, Ryan, Kenny, Kimber, Steph (slightly hidden!), me, Neal and Joey!
Another group effort (from left again): Keith, Aaron, Sara, Darla, Kenny, Ryan, Kari.
and the last one of the girls (an old friend and two news ones): Autumn, Amanda, Joanne, and Steph:
Anyway, as you can see, everyone had a blast, and it was great to see people get together. We met three new 'additions' to the group (Amanda, Joanne, and Aaron), which would be great if they stick around and have some fun in the future.
Did anyone stop to see the premier episode of "Invasion" yesterday on ABC?
Aside from being a very interesting show, and one that I could see being a huge hit this season (even with the non-sci-fi geeks like myself!), it also featured a very interesting dynamic between a divorced father and his ex.
For those who didn't watch, the basics of the relationship dynamic were, from what I could get, was that the mother was a doctor, and the father was a park ranger. Both in stable jobs and both, by the nature of that episode, thrown into action mutually by the looming hurricane. Both the mother and the father have separate relationships....the mother is dating a cop, and the father is dating a news reporter.
Anyway, they have two kids together, one boy 15-ish and a girl around 5 years old. I didn't quite get the custody aspect, but during the episode the kids were staying with their father and seemed hostile towards the mother for starting a new relationship. It wasn't explained in the first episode how that came about, but the fact was that they were living with their father and the mother had a visitation schedule going on. Of course, neither the father or the new boyfriend seemed to get along to add to the mix.
What I did get out of the episode was the fact that the mother appeared to be very controlling and "overly" protective of their kids, which was driving the 15 year old boy away from her. The girl, of course, being 5 years old, had rose tinted glasses for both parents.
It was fantastic to finally see a major TV show that actually didn't do the standard "deadbeat dad" routine, and even better still to see them portray the father as the stable one (mentally) and in control while the mother was going whacko!
Of course, towards the end of the show the mother is affected by the alien invasion, and starts to change into one. Strangely, this was not a stretch for me....you should meet my ex-wife!! Ha ha.
Anyway, if you didn't tune in last night, I am sure there is an encore presentation (probably this weekend, check local listings), but I would encourage all of you to watch. I think this could be a small, but VERY WELCOME, change towards fathers getting a 'fair shuot' in TV land...
--------------------------------
http://abc.go.com/primetime/invasion/index.html
The official story about the show is below:
From famed writer/producer Shaun Cassidy ("Cold Case," "American Gothic," "Cover Me") comes a suspenseful tale of a blended family trying to recover from a devastating hurricane and its mysterious aftermath.
For centuries man has searched the skies for signs of intelligent life forms. What if those life forms were already here? And what if some of the natural disasters we've been experiencing of late were merely smokescreens to mask something far more ominous?
For dedicated park ranger Russell Varon (Eddie Cibrian, "Third Watch"), a divorced father of two who is expecting a third child with his new wife, local television reporter Larkin Groves (Lisa Sheridan), the hurricane proves to be merely the beginning of a long journey into the unknown. Always skeptical about the paranoid conspiracy theories of his wayward brother-in-law, Dave (Tyler Labine, ABC's "That Was Then"), Russell may have to revise his thinking when a number of bizarre occurrences start taking place in his community. Though Russell's young daughter, Rose (Ariel Gade), claims to have seen hundreds of lights floating towards the water during the storm, Russell initially dismisses her claim — until he begins to suspect that something is very wrong with his ex-wife, Dr. Mariel Underlay (Kari Matchett, "Angel Eyes"). The morning after the storm, Mariel is found naked in the water — with no memory of what transpired the night before.
As the tiny town of Homestead, Florida struggles to rebuild itself, Sheriff Tom Underlay (William Fichtner, 2005's "The Longest Yard," "Black Hawk Down," "Armageddon," "Go," "Contact") -- who is married to Russell's ex-wife -- suspiciously orders the entire area quarantined. Russell starts to investigate the strange goings on and unknowingly begins a fight for the survival of his family, his community, and what might ultimately be the whole human race.
"Invasion" stars William Fichtner as Sheriff Tom Underlay, Eddie Cibrian as Russell Varon, Lisa Sheridan as Larkin Groves, Kari Matchett as Dr. Mariel Underlay, Tyler Labine as Dave Groves, Evan Peters as Jesse Varon, Ariel Gade as Rose Varon, Alexis Dziena as Kira Underlay and Aisha Hinds as Mona Gomez.
Shaun Cassidy created the series and serves as executive producer. Lawrence Trilling (director – "Alias," "Nip/Tuck," "Scrubs") is co-executive producer and multiple Emmy Award-winning director Thomas Schlamme ("The West Wing," "ER," "Sports Night") is executive consultant. "Invasion" is from Shaun Cassidy Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television Production Inc.
Well, I had an epiphany last night.
Steph and I were talking about how crazy our lives were and how we seem to be arguing a lot more recently. We have been snapping at each other for silly things, and obviously money is a issue, but not something that should be a problem for us when it comes to arguing.
So then I got to thinking what the overall problem might me. And then, out of nowhere, I got it. I am gay. No, wait....different story. I just thought to myself that we are not taking the time to OURSELVES recently. We have been so absorbed in Jack, and money, and one car, and paying bills, and yada yada, that we have forgotten that we are in fact, married to each other, and our primary goal is to be a family.
Sure the rest of the stuff is a bummer to have floating around, but at the end of the day it is just 'stuff'. Nothing really matters except our health and how we deal with each other.
I love you, and you mean more to me than anything in this world. I love you more and more, everyday.
I hopefully will be picking up a truck in Sacramento later next month,
I want to redo the body work on it, and minor mechanical adjustments and then make some money by selling it re-done.
Anyway, here are some pics of the truck I hope to get. A diamond in the rough. I like the fact that the interior is yellow, as I see this truck being a canary yellow, which would cut down on errors inside. It could also be a cherry metallic red. I won't know for sure until I get it in my hands.
This first one is a good side shot, and it was this that actually attracted me to this particular make and model. It has long sweeping curves which makes it ideal for a cool looking truck.
This is obviously the front. The lady in the picture is the current owner. Looks like the two indicators are smashed, so I will need to replace them.
The bed is going to either need some major work, or it is going to just have to be sandblasted and then covered with that rhino covering stuff. I am not going to paint it. 
I was also impressed that the interior was in as good a shape as it was. Keeping it in alocation such as Sacramento, where it is always hot, minimizes the moisture, and keeps it from rusting too much. Remember, this truck is 47 years old!
Check out the dash board panel! Old School! Looks like the steering wheel has been replaced (or has a cover) and the seat is in good shape underneath the bench cover.
I also like the step up into the cab. Newer trucks have these on the outside now (usually as part of the running board), but I always liked them on the inside. I have no idea what that hole is in the middle of the door. Perhaps for a speaker? This was undoubtably an after market add-on, so hopefully that won't take too much repair to get rid of it. Fiberglass it in.
Finally, the rear end! Very cool, solid tailgate. It has a chain across the top, as the latches are broken, but apparently that is an easy fix!
So there you have it! Check back with this blog a few months from now and I will try to keep the progress of the blog updated as I go along. I may even start a separate blog just for that!
