July 4th thoughts

Fireworks are one of my favorite pastimes...watching them at the local park was always exciting for me.  Actually, when I was real little, my parents had to cover my ears because I didn't really appreciate the BOOMS.  But my appreciation for how magical a firework is continues to grow.  Every year I look for the SMILEY FACED ones, in other words the fireworks that form two eyes and a smile.  I love that crap! For the past few years, including tonight, I have watched them from my couch.  Last year Christine was pregnant, and this year we have our little one trying to sleep through it.  It's all good though.  One day I will get back to the parks.

Life is good.  Summer is here. Weather in South Florida is hot.  Pool feels good.  I recently hooked up a decent sound system out back so the music sounds much better now (just don't ask the neighbors)!  We had baby Viviana in the pool this weekend, she seems to like it...kicks the water around and stares at it alot.  She is sitting up (almost) and I love to make her smile and laugh.  Christine does a great job as the MOMMY, and recently started making her pureed food.  Nothing like a little avocado, quinoa, and breast milk!

Back to the workweek tomorrow - Tuesday. Lights out for now.

Da Mayo

I have always enjoyed the months of April and May in Florida. Temperatures are just right and the smell of spring and fresh cut grass fills the air. Reminds me of summers in southern California.  We've gotten some landscaping projects going, as well as some pool renovations, and we look forward to introducing our 4 month old splendor Viviana to her first summer.  She just eclipsed her first Mothers Day and had a great four month checkup today with Dr. Colon.

One of the great joys is watching our now14lb nugget develop skills, such as rolling over, smiling/giggling, trying to sit up, and playing with (well, holding and eating) her toys. She really thinks I am the best singer/dancer/story teller, because she smiles the entire time!  I never knew I had a great voice, but Viviana thinks I am a rockstar!

So besides the new baby-oriented lifestyle, there are other things that also take place... Such as my business - moved into new Coconut Creek office recently. Hired an admin assistant, for my financial stuff as well as the charity. Speaking of charity, we just successfully pulled off our 7th prom in Ft Lauderdale. The charity has aspirations of "expanding nationally" but that's been proving to be a challenge, as time (for me, and others) is at a premium.  Having a kid has forced me to re-think how I spend my time, and how I do business. I am confident that with proper planning, goal setting, and expectation management, everthing will work out for the best.

A couple goals I have set for myself include reading one book a month, watching two Ted Talks a month, and listening to two podcasts per week. So far in 2016, I have been doing so...and by increasing my "inputs" I am learning a tremendous amount.  At the gym, I now listen to podcasts instead of music. At night I make time for audio books or nook books, just before bed.  I have even played podcasts on bluetooth in my car...had to buy an adapter to set that up. Amongst the topics I now consider myself to be fairly enlightened about: the misunderstandings of the gender pay gap, the theory behind coincidence, applying happiness towards your success, the power of giving, and how misleading "predictions" are. It's amazing how much I am learning from listening and reading - there is so much I don't know, but am excited to learn!

Daddy Opre, out.

Year #42 complete, another time of reflection

Ahhhh, the itch to blog on my birthday...it's becoming a theme! It's now an entire 42 complete years of life. How many more are ahead? Someone please tell me so I know how much life insurance to buy.

To paint the picture here, I am laying in the spare bed and typing on a mini ipad with my two thumbs...not the most efficient. I am hoping that our baby Viviana, yes...baby...will fall asleep in the adjacent nursery room because we all need to get a little sleep around here. So alot has happened in the past several months, the biggest of which was Christine being able to get pregnant and the birth of our little girl on 1-11-16.  She came out 3.5 weeks ahead of schedule and caught us a little offguard. She's healthy and growing, and now is 5+ weeks old and nearly 9lbs. It was a stressful pregnancy, all the way from Christine taking the pregnancy test (3 days early because she couldnt wait to know), through the multitude of doctor visits and sonograms (at least 15 sonograms were done during the 35 weeks), to the post-birth aftermath (we were told today she is colicky).  The miracle of life is a great thing, but it doesn't come with an owners manual!

Trying to keep up with "everything else"has been challenging. Work, staying in shape, charity and all the other committments....sometimes I feel like I am just "squeaking by". Some of the accomplishments I am currently thankful for: knee and leg strength is getting better and I am playing basketball more often with less pain; charity continues to do well as I try to manage my time more efficiently; I have read more books lately and love my Nook reader (amd recently discovered using borrowed ebooks from the county library).  I continue to enjoy time with my family, and friends when possible. And we have our little rescue dog Maxwell (chi-weenie, adopted May 2015 at age 8momths?) who is becoming more stable and comfortable as part of the family. He still has accidents in the house but we are working on that!  He keeps Lilly on her toes and has helped fill the void of Barkley, although he is about 90lbs smaller than Barks!

Before my arms and thumbs grow numb from typing upside down, I am gonna call it a day.  Goals going forward in 2016 include becoming more mindful, reading a book a month, and being the best dad and husband that I can.