Home screen on iPhone 4

I love my new phone. The main reason I wanted the iPhone 4 was for the camera. The old saying 'The best camera is the one you have with you' applies to me doubly so. In the year+ I had my iPhone 3G I took over 1300 pictures with it (according to my smart folder on iPhoto) that I kept. So the early reviews of the iPhone 4s camera had me Jonesin' for one.

The pics (with the back camera) do impress but I have a new favorite feature. Wallpaper. I know this is on the 3GS and I know we've had wallpaper on computers forever but I love it. On the third day I took one of my favorite photos and after a half hour with Photoshop I had a wallpaper that isn't distracting behind my icons and puts the fam front and center. With folders I just don't use the 4th row for icons.

It's been a week and I still haven't gotten used to seeing them everytime I turn on my phone. I catch myself taking a second to look at them each time. Sometimes it's the simple things.

Time for the fam to get home!

I'm sitting on the patio waiting for the sprinkler to hit the vegetable garden when I suddenly realized what an old man thing this is to do.

Then I realized I just spent 30 minutes researching which $4.99 financial calculator to buy for the iPad and actually asked Bogie for his opinion.

I need the fam to get home soon before I make a run 'to town' for Geritol and start complaining about how loud the neighborhood teenager's car radio is when he leaves the 'hood.

Golfed and beered out

This never happens to me  so I have say it when it happens.  I played with Mika at Fayetteville Country Club this weekend in their Member-Guest.  It was a lot of fun, a lot of sun, and yes...a lot of beer.  Heroic portions even.  Leading up to the tourney over the past 2 weeks I played 2 practice rounds and hit balls every single day.  A couple of days I found myself practicing twice.

Today was the culmination with our final round (which was much better than our first round) wrapping up at 5 PM.  I met the fam out to eat (Jared, Shauntel, Weldon, and Anne are all in town) and made my way home.  My skin is weathered and tired.  My legs are shot.  My head hurts and I really think my hamstrings are about to seize up at any moment.

A little bit ago, my phone buzzes.  Chuck has a tee time tomorrow afternoon and wants to know if I'm in.  I laughed for 5 minutes before texting him back, "Thanks but no thanks."

Frozen sushi and too much time

A few weeks ago I saw a Schwann's truck in my neighborhood and it got me thinking. Then I came across a Scwann's catalog and it got me thinking.

So I found myself with some free time one night and checked my 'Someday/Maybe' file and found the catalog. You'll have to Google 'GTD' for more info on the 'Someday/Maybe' file.

I went onto their website, created an account, and gave it a shot with about 5 things. We were pretty impressed. Food quality was pretty good and prices were reasonable for what I ordered (beef is only thing that seems a bit overpriced).

So the next week I made a considerable order and spent a lot of time sifting through the choices. one dish I kept coming back to was their sushi. I love sushi. I'm blessed to live in an area that has more sushi restaurants than steak houses. I'm not kidding. We have good sushi too.

I tried to resist but the curiousity got to me. I added a 'Sushi Tray' to my order. It came frozen so I left it overnight in the fridge to thaw. Yesterday for dinner I was prepped and ready.

I'm not going to completely kill it because it was exactly what I knew it had to be. It tasted as fresh as...well frozen sushi and for the price I'll keep doing the Blue Fin takeout special. live and learn.

New look and new address

Well I went too long without updating my WordPress files and malware has struck. No doWell I went too long without updating my WordPress files and malware has struck. No doubt some of you have seen the warning from Google. A rogue php file was placed somewhere on the site and would attempt to put an unauthorized cookie on your computer. I updated to the a newer secure installation but the file was there…somewhere.  It was like looking for a needle in a proverbial haystack.

To fix this I....

Short version:
I moved the site to www.thesullivanblog.com full time.

Long version:
I gave up because........I needed to backup the posts, delete everything, reinstall everything, restore the posts, and then ask Google to rescan the directory.
But…….I was already redirecting www.thesullivanblog.com to the original site at www.macadactyl.com/lilbit.
So…..instead I backed up the posts and moved them to www.thesullivanblog.com.
That was most people’s bookmark anyway so this shouldn’t affect most of you, your browser just won’t redirect you.

I’ll send this in an email as well in case you have the old site bookmarked. When time permits I’ll delete the old site completely and have Google rescan.

I like the new look though so I think this was worth it.

Love you guys,
Chad

Great holiday

You know how I hate to blog when we are out of town (well you do now). I have just a touch of paranoia about being robbed I guess. The fall out is I got out of the habit of posting. I had done pretty good since Campbell was born but not so much lately. So here we go.

We had a great 3 week holiday. Christmas with a three year old is so much fun you'd almost have a whole herd of kids. Not to mention the fact that we had A WHITE CHRISTMAS. Of course, Noah had no idea how special that was. He just said, "Eh." It's funny how just last year his cousin Jana was being driven over the state to try to see snow since she had never seen it and Noah is so bored by snow it elicits an "Eh."

Santa brought him a John Deere Gator for Christmas. He wanted to ride right away but I convinced him to wait for it to warm up. I think we'd still be waiting if I'd held to that. Eventually I shoveled the driveway off and made him a loop through the garage. He was out there maybe 3 minutes before he told me his cheeks hurt and he went in.

We did the south Arkansas tour with stops in Texarkana and ElDorado. We were gone 6 days and although it was great to see everyone it was about 1 day too long to be away from home. The best part of being gone was all the willing help we had with Campbell. In ElDorado, Magga and Holly took turns with her through the night so we were able to catch up on some rest.

Highlights of the tour:
-Seeing little Finley-I hadn't seen her awake since the day she was born
-Seeing Holly pregnant-the changes in her are so dramatic, at times she doesn't seem like the same person-it's awesome what the power of love can do
-Watching Noah and Jana together. They love each other in such a profound way. I grew up with cousins like that and it is awesome to see them develop that type of bond
-Gumbo-enough said
-Amanda and Sarah coming over to Texarkana before Amanda flew back to Portland

Lowlights of the tour
-The drive down. Campbell was good for the most part but we had to drive on so much ice it took about 7 hours to get to Texarkana. Towards the end Noah wanted to fall asleep but his new big boy booster seat just wasn't comfortable so the last 45 minutes was basically him crying.
-Campbell had a stomach bug almost the entire time. She was spitting up and had diarrhea although she acted fine. We were really nervous she'd dehydrate and have to be hospitalized but she kept on eating (every hour) and wetting diapers so she pulled through fine
-Grandparents went way overboard. Not really a lowlight but worth mentioning it was a little over the top-Magga I'm looking at you :)
-Mamaw Rotton being sick and not getting to see Campbell.

We got back without a hiccup. Tried to hook up with Bradford. I haven't gotten to see him since his surgery but our timing was just off. It was good to be home.

Noah's little buddy, Banks, lives about 4 houses down and he got the exact same Gator for Christmas so we spent a few days watching them terrorize the neighborhood like a Gator gang. They are pretty funny.

The 3rd week of snow and ice was brutal. It was too cold for any outside play and we only have 1 4-wheel drive vehicle. Most places were closed and we were all a little stir crazy. On Wednesday, Noah's preschool opened. I think they knew there were some toddlercides about to happen if they didn't open. I'm all for a snow day, but a snow week?

Things are back to "normal" now. At least they are back on routine. Noah has been an absolute angel the past two days. It's amazing how good a schedule is on his life. Campbell's doing good too. She slept last night from 11:30 to 5:30 this morning!!!!!! That actually deserves a few more exclamation points but you get the idea.

A family of four

I had to share this picture. Magga took it right before leaving us for the night. Right before this picture, Noah was helping his Momma hold Campbell and she was looking so hard at him. I said "She wants to talk to you Noah." He got very solemn and leaned down to her face and said "What do you want to talk about Campbell: Batman, the Ninja Tuttles, or Wobin (Robin-the boy wonder)?" We were rollin.

6AM-Saturday-Wide Awake

Sometimes life just isn't fair but I'll get to that in a minute.

Jenna has this crazy thing she says periodically. Whenever we have any big or even semi-big event happen she always asks "Don't you feel like a grown-up?" The most recent example is our new bedroom furniture. When it was delivered she was so excited because somehow in her brain having a matching set of nightstands, bed, and dresser officially moved us into the ranks of adulthood. Never mind the marriage, mortgage, 3 dogs, 3 y/o son, pregnancy, and the fact that we are in our mid-30s. That was all practice for having bedroom furniture.

An odd segway but here I am on a Saturday morning a little after 6. My son is spending the night with grandparents. I'm 1 1/2 weeks away from a new baby in our life with all the sleeplessness that entails. I'm wide awake.

I certainly didn't mean to. I polished off a bottle of wine last night. I stayed up a little too late. I didn't set an alarm and my last thought last how wonderful it was going to be to sleep in with the Razorback game being at 6PM and how late Noah and I would get in.

I wake up too early some mornings but I can just lay still and my mind wanderings will eventually turn to a dream and back off to sleep I go. Sometimes the brain just won't turnoff. I woke up in that half sleep and started to think. I thought about last night and the homemade pizzas and the Italy Blu-Ray reliving our honeymoon. It was similar to a 'last hooray' before the new baby, although I was the only one who could toast.

Despite these thoughts I was still half asleep when my mind wandered to work but I know better to think about work so I quickly put myself on a golf course. Playing an imaginary round of golf is my equivalent of counting sheep. This worked for awhile but then I made a tragic error.

I thought about some speeches I'll have to give soon. Last year I had to speak at a few events here and there. This year it will be many more. The ones with the most people aren't bad. I'm only 1 of several people and we have a script. Being on the start stage of the race for the cure speaking to 18,000 people sounds bad but I get to read from a script so it's really not.

The scary ones are the small groups of people at a lunch and they ask you to come in and speak. One time last year I was asked if I would speak about the "Role of the husband during crisis." I said yes and then I when I was alone I was "What?!?" which quickly led to "WTF?!?!?!?"

The only reason I'm telling you this was because in the instant I thought about these upcoming speeches I had a good idea. I lay there thinking through the whole idea and soon it fleshed out into a great idea. I even had my starting joke an a witty remark in the middle that I actually giggled when I thought of it.

I'm just laying there in bed formulating something I'll say in a few months-not next week-a few months-like after Christmas. Then a funny thought interjects. "You should write this down." I panic. I thought this was a safe thought pattern to follow but now I know the error of my ways, because the instant those words were 'spoken' I was awake. I want to go back to sleep. I want to think about something else. I want anything in this world rather than get out of this bed. Then a slightly twisted version of the thought popped in my head. It's like the Wizard of Oz has a curtain behind my eardrums or something. "You have to write this down."

So here I sit at the keyboard at 715 after having written not 1 but 2 versions of the speech (a 5 minute and a 10 minute). I guess I couldn't stop typing so I wanted to put my plight here. Now I'm wide awake with my wife still asleep. The dog's are asleep. My son isn't even here. Then the damn Oz guy in my ear says, "You should go for a run."

When Jenna wakes up I owe her an apology. I feel like a grown-up.

I...{gulp}...have a Facebook account

Okay just so you know, I have a mouthful of crow and I understand your smirks. I was trying to figure out a way to streamline volunteer signups for next year's Race for the Cure. Convio-Komen's website engine-has different plugins. One is for Facebook. The idea of people registering and joining teams and signing up as a volunteer through Facebook is a great idea. The problem...to see how it works I have to have a Facebook account.

My problem hasn't been with Facebook itself or the idea of Facebook. I think it has been the majority of people who've asked me if I have a Facebook account, haven't been people I want to speak to in any way, shape, or form. Think the school janitor who asks me weekly and wants to set me up with her granddaughter despite the fact I've told her 48 times that I'm married.

So to all my friends and family who have heard my diabtribe against Facebook, you may now commence with the heckles and ridicule. I can take it-Lord knows I've been known to dish it out. Of course, if I was you I'd ask to be my friend and then delete me as a friend, but I'm more vindictive than most. Your mileage may vary.

A weekend alone

So, my boys headed south this afternoon: a golf tourney for Chad and a weekend with Mamaw and Papaw for Noah. Both, I think, were pretty excited. However, they weren't as excited as dear old wife and mom. I was pumped up about eating cereal for dinner and getting in my pjs to watch last night's Grey's Anatomy season premiere. I cannot remember the last time I had an entire house to myself for an entire weekend. It was well before Noah was born and maybe before Chad and I married. And now, I think I have forgotten what it feels like to have so few responsibilities after coming home from work. I have watched Grey's Anatomy, put my pjs on and eaten two bowls of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, my fam's new fav. Now I really don't know what to do. I don't feel as exhausted as normal because I didn't start another job after coming home from my paying day job. I do feel sleepy though and will head to the bed soon. I hope to sleep well and wake up rested. I look forward to my morning coffee in a relaxed way without answering to my little prince for juice or oatmeal. I may even treat myself to a manicure and pedicure and an afternoon movie. Then I will be ready for my family to return. I miss the comfort of my husband and sing song narrative of my beautiful son. All that to say, life is different now-it's the big things that make one appreciate the little things!

Big Weekend for the Rotton's

Wow! When you have 4 kids, 9 grandchildren and spouses, and 7 great grandchildren it would seem next to impossible to get everyone together, but that is exactly what we did. I can't remember the last time all of us could get together. We had people fly in, drive in, and just come down the road a bit. The occassion? Fae Rotton-Mamaw, the matriarch of our family, turned 80!

It was a great weekend. Lots of good food and I got to see so many good friends that just don't live close enough. Noah got to spend a lot of quality time with his aunt Holly and his great-aunts Amanda and Sue who he gets to see so rarely. We even had a photographer come and take a picture of all 30 or so of us. Here's a shot of Mamaw with her great-grandchildren.
Mamaw Rotton with great-grandchildren

Flapjack gave me a high five

Last night when we got in the bed, Jenna said "Wow Flapjack is really moving around." So I put my hand on her belly and sure enough I felt Flapjack move for the first time!!! Its the best feeling in the world. For men the early stages of pregnancy are so different. We get to put the pregnancy out of our mind for the majority of the day but the baby is tap dancing on Mom's bladder all the time.

This pregnancy has been so different from the first. We talk more about what Flapjack's personality will be and how Noah will react, while we talked about the actual fetal development so much more with Noah. We can now visualize a child and he/she looking up at me saying "I love you Da" isn't some abstract thought in my head now. I can't wait to meet the guy/gal.

The X-Linked Bounce Out of Bed Phenomenon

A couple of weeks ago I went on my yearly guy's golf trip. The drive was 3 1/2 hours and we had to be there at nine. I was to pick up Scrumpy and be on the way. The alarm was to go off at 4:30 AM.

You know where this is going. How can I struggle to get out of bed at 645 each morning for work but I can bounce out of bed at 430 to drive 3+ hours for golf? Not only did I bounce out of bed but I was in the shower before the last note from the alarm had fully died.

What is it about the male genetic make up that makes the time or the amount of daylight outside irrelevant when faced with guy play. I think this peculiar behavior is isolated mainly to the male half of the population. I could be wrong but the women I grew up with and lived with throughout my life don't seem to have the same affliction. I was late for work almost everyday from age 24-27. In those same years I had a standing tee time in Bella Vista at 730 AM every Saturday. Not only was I up and on time after a 45 minute drive but the night before was often much later than anything I did on weeknights. I'm not a hunter, but it's an aversion to the cold not the early AM hours that I can't get on board with.

I love my wife dearly but I crawled out of the bed on our wedding day. If I had been on my way to go fishing instead of heading to the chapel I'd been 30 minutes down the road before my other self's Dr. Pepper had stopped fizzing. The thing is I was excited on my wedding day. More so than the 80th time I met Mika on the practice tee trying to kick the dew off my shoes. The phenomenon amazes me. Everyone I know experiences it either with themselves or with their spouse.

Well...I have a theory. It's not going to make my wife happy to read, but I believe it to be true. I don't think it has to do with testosterone. My thinking here is getting up to go fishing by yourself doesn't elicit the same mad dash out of bed. I think it has to do with the very nature of male bonding. Something in our DNA makes it impossible to think about letting our buddies down. I think most guys can live with getting caught lying to their wives occasionally. I mean as long as it isn't about a receipt for the 2-hour hotel room on a Tuesday afternoon. That's a tough lie to tell. I'm talking about the "Why are you 45 minutes late?" type of lie. Most guys that I know will lie to the spouse to avoid an argument but you would never lie to your buddy about this. One is there won't be a fight, but two I truly believe you don't want your buddy to think your a liar. Cheating is the same way. I don't mean fidelity type cheating. I can't imagine getting caught cheating at a sport, poker, or whatever by my buddies. The thought is enough to ensure I never do it. We had a guy abuse his commissioner privileges to post date his lineup in fantasy baseball one time. We're still talking about it 6 years later.

So I guess my main question in all this musing isn't about springing out of bed in the wee hours. It's what snaps inside a guys head to make him sprint to his car so his guy friend doesn't have to wait an extra 10 minutes before hitting the McDonald's drive through? Bizarre I know.