A moment of reflection...

Or perhaps the title should be more aptly named "The calm before the storm."

This weekend, as we are less than one week from the arrival of the newest Baker boy, I have had a little bit of time to do some reflection. Maybe its the ugly weather or maybe the realization that Ship's homecoming, which was yesterday, would be our 10 year reunion, but I had a chance to think about where I am in my life and where I have come from.

Early October marked 13 years from the day that I first met Jen, ironically, outside of the pep rally for Ship's homecoming. We spent the next day, with our friends, at the game, but it seems, or at least my memory has stored this way, it could have just been Jen and I. We joked, we were perverse (wow, I would never have guessed), we talked and we really began our relationship fairly smooth. Within a few weeks (Oct. 26 to be exact) we started dating. Oh, and I have the video evidence of our first date...a party at 14 South Queen Street! There is a throw back to anyone who remembers that place.

Over the next 5 years, our relationship had its peaks and valleys. Both our parents divorced in that time, I announced that I never wanted to get married and we had one of those "where is this relationship" going talks. Poor Slick was locked out of our room until 3 am thanks to that talk! Nonetheless, we prevailed.

Again, at the Homecoming Pep rally in 2000, I proposed to Jen at almost the same spot we met. Despite her alcohol induced haze, she said yes :-) (Or maybe it was because of that haze!) We spent the next year planning for the wedding and of course, we were married on Sept. 15, 2001...surprisingly, not at Ship's homecoming! (Although thinking back, that would have been awesome to do at halftime!!!)

Our lives have been a roller coaster ride ever since. The obvious high was when Ella was born. Subtracting age 3 from the equation :-), we have been blessed with a beautiful, intelligent, witty little girl! She is such a brave little girl with all that she endures and that toughness, for better or worse, will get her through life in so many situations. There is no doubt in my mind that she will be able to accomplish everything she sets her mind to.

Now, on the eve of the birth of our son, I can't help but feel blessed but what I have in my life. Despite the daily stresses, the highs and lows of work, the heavy burden of a heavy travel schedule, the health highs and lows, and just about whatever else life could throw at us, I am convinced that life is good.

My cubicle at work is covered in pictures of Ella. Sadly, it always reminds me of the episode of The Simpsons where Homer is less than thrilled to be at work and he covers his office with pictures of Maggie, just to remind him of why it is all worth it. On tough days, it doesn't take long for me to look at the cheesy grin in one of those pictures and to smile myself. I can't wait until there are two faces peering back at me that have the same effect!

I know right before Ella was born, I wrote something about how prepared I was for her birth. Man...how naive is a new father? I could never have anticipated just how far off that statement was! I was somewhat ready, but not for all the twists and turns life has in store for you. Nonetheless, we made it this far with only minors scratches and bruises! :-)

So...as I wrap this up, I look back on the past year, 3 1/2 years, 8 years, 13 years and 32 years and realize, I may not be exactly where I wanted to be in my life, but that's okay...I am in a much better place than I could have ever anticipated or wished for.

Life on the road...

I have been deep in my 6th cycle as a college recruiter for several weeks now. While I love this aspect of my job, it increasingly becomes harder and harder to when all I want to do is be home to tuck my little girl in at night. And of course, it won't get easier when the little guy come either. Ugh.

State Budget Impass...

If you are looking for someone to blame for this budget mess, take a look at the Senate Republicans? Republican Senator and Lt. Governor Joe Scarnati has just announced that he is spending a half million dollars of your money on a special election on September 29th, only 5 weeks before the regularly scheduled General Election on November 3rd.

It defies common sense to throw away money in the middle of a global economic crisis while our state is facing a multi-billion dollar deficit.

Senate Republicans are handing working families of Pennsylvania another bill they should not have to pay. What happened to fiscal responsibility? This move is simply a reckless and irresponsible waste of time, money and government resources.

Call Joe Scarnati and tell him to stop playing politics and pass a budget - (717) 787-7084.

A little perspective...

We are officially beginning the second week without a state budget here in PA. Both sides at the state level are deadlock and the speculation is that this could go on for months! Not weeks, but months. Thus far, the governor has proposed huge cuts to the current budget, as well as a sunset tax for PA residents. In a nutshell, this means after three years, the tax will be repealed and we will go back to where we began. This has been done successfully three times since 1980 here in PA and each time the tax was ended when it was to be ended.

All of this and no proposal from the other side other than to say the governor needs to cut more and do away with his tax proposal.

Okay, political affiliations aside, let's look at the human side of this. Many state employees are not going to get paid for the work they are doing. Would you like going to work each and every day and doing your job knowing that you are not getting paid for it. Sure, payment will eventually come, but when? If this goes on for months, it could mean no pay check for several weeks. In case you have forgotten, people exist on their pay checks. Food, utilities, fuel cost, healthcare, etc, etc, etc. all get paid out of those pay checks. So to be without one, means you are WITHOUT everything in a sense.

This doesn't account for all of those who will lose their jobs. Many PA workers have already had their jobs cut. In a job market which is already incredibly hostile, we have to see hard working, dedicated people thrown right into this market. With possibly more cuts on the horizon, more people could soon be faced with the same dilemma.

With all this said, is anyone in Harrisburg concerned about their job? We know the governor is not as he is out of office in 18 months or so. Many of the legislators don't seem to be. I see know proposals to cut their income or to suspend anything that will drastically effect their lives. Yet here I sit wondering whether my employment will be effected yet again. We already have 17% of budget proposed to be cut, will more now be dropped as a result of the wrangling that is going on in Harrisburg?

I said it before, and I will say it again...I am willing to pay a few dollars more a month for the next three years or hell, even longer, if it means I keep my job, my benefits and my life! I know that is selfish, but with a family that will soon be expanding, I can't not be selfish. There are few out there who will be effected as dramatically as those who have already have or could possibly lose their jobs as a result of this budget crisis.

The legislators and the governor need to compromise sooner than later and get this resolved...NOW!

The goal...

On December 1, out of no where, I decided it was time to lose weight. I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to do it, but I knew something had to be done. I knew I needed to set a goal and stick with it. So...

I thought today, my 32nd birthday would be a good date to shoot for. And how simple, I should look to lose 32 pounds by my 32nd birthday. That roughly worked out to be approximately 5 pounds per month. Certainly this was an attainable goal, right?

Well, as many of you already know, I shattered that goal. As a matter of fact, by mid-February, I lost the initial 32 pounds. So, I set a new goal. I passed that. I set a third goal and...I PASSED THAT.

As of my 32nd birthday, I have lost 64.5 lbs! Did you do the math yet? That is double my original goal!

Now, I will completely blow it over the next week, but I intend full well to get back on the horse by July 4 and lose even more! My new goal, another 23.5 lbs by January 1, 2010. I know these will be a lot harder to lose in 5 short months, but I think it is doable.

Thanks to everyone for their words of encouragement and the patience from everyone around me. I know I have become a real stickler with all of this and sometimes it can be annoying, but...my health and life thank you :-)