Mr. Garner Goes To Washington

Well, I trust all of you survived "round one" of the holidays and made it through Thanksgiving? We had a lovely feast for lunch with the family and then had another one that night! Dave & Lynn, our neighbors, had invited us over. They have a 1-year-old daughter, Guliana. She and Georgia have had play dates before and we were touched that they wanted to include us. It was a neat visit as Dave & Lynn are Filipino and they had six other friends over. Otherwise, I have been so swamped with projects that the end of year is racing to a close at warp speed. Kim, Georgia, and I have gotten into a bit of a "rhythm of life."Every family kinda has to do this to function. For example, I still have to leave early enough to avoid traffic or spend 2 hours in the commute. Now, it's 6:30am or earlier. I haven't made that in awhile...but the commute has been closer to an hour and 20. However, this means I need to head home around 4...because not only it's be...

Well, another Halloween has come and gone in Maryland. This one was abit different for me but somewhat familiar. Halloween 2004 was my first and I'm thinking I came home late from the office. It was rather entertaining to see the costumes on the subway. Last year, it was great to have Kim and Georgia up here...although we had yet to move into our new townhouse. This year, K & G are in Mississippi this week. It was a bit too much to cough up three plane tickets at once and I can't go anywhere during sweeps periods - which November is a big one. So, I help out at the church's Fall Festival. A great turn out and the kids had a lot of fun! I found an orange long-sleeve shirt and considered myself "An Uncarved Pumpkin." I know, lame. Didn't have anything in the closet to have fun with...and zero time and money to put together anything else. Oh, well. The remainder of the night was spent recouping from the long day and posting a few Halloween pics from around...

So, I had hoped to get my car back from the mechanic Wednesday. She was overdue on having the ole brakes checked out. However, Pat had quite a used car lot of vehicles to deal with for AC repair. Yeah, this may be a huge commuter area...but many peeps love their cars...and staying cool in them. At least the last few days have been very pleasant. Thus, the MARC train, subway, and 5 minute walk was the method of getting to work this morn. Georgia had her yearly checkup yesterday at 2:45pm...yup, hard to believe her bday was July 30 and she's 2! So, Kimmie kinda needed a car. Appointment went well...she's 30lbs...a yard tall - somehow 3 feet seems a bit tall for a 2 year old...I've got an Amazon on my hands! Getting off the 4-story elevator - seriously, if that thing was stood on end, it'd have to be 4 stories tall! - the smell of rain slapped my nostrils into confused delight. How refreshing...but I didn't know it was suppose to rain...oh yeah, you didn't check th...

It's been nearly three months since posting an update here. Yeesh-o-meesh. And to think bloggers do this everyday...and as it should be. Needless to say, there's been A LOT going on since the first of May. Actually, most of it is a blur. So, let's hit some high points and see what I can remember... ====Broken Toe?==== Yeah, never a good idea to be sitting at a desk barefoot, whirl around to the left, and smack your foot into the side of the desk. Purple and red are lovely colors on the toe next to the pinkie toe. Not sure if I actually broke or fractured it...but it happened on a Saturday afternoon...had to take a sick day on Monday...hobbled a bit on Tuesday and Wednesday...and by Friday was feeling pretty normal. ====Crazy Work Stuff==== We've been undergoing research and tweaking and rebuilding here at WUSA9.com. Please excuse our mess, we've got some dust bunnies everywhere! Still doing the 7am - 4pm workday. ====Teaching Young Married Class At Church==== A new ...

Did you know that termites have "swarmers"? I only thought they were "grains of rice" snacking on wood...but we learned about these little boogers due to our townhouse in danger of being dessert. Seems our neighbor had them in his townhouse. So, we had our little pad checked out and termites were in our front yard soil. So, in come the bug guys. After spending about 6 hours in our townhouse (they had to drill along the walls) and pumping 100 gallons of Termadore, the strongest termite killer, into these holes...every living thing around our townhouse has been terminated. Plus, we had carpenter bees which look like bumble bees but no yellow and they can bite. They came from the woods behind our place and like to eat through wood. Sorry, pals, this buffet is closed! Plus, it was a blessing to have a neighbor with a lawn mower. Our backyard takes all of 5 minutes to mow...but without a storage shed for a mower (or it being a priority) let's just say the weeds Maddy...

Kim, Georgia and I were able to visit Mississippi last week. It was my first time to return to my home state in 8 months...the first time since Katrina scarred the coast. Stepping off the plane, the air smelt like "home" - as it has sincemoving to Maryland. However, by the next day, the pungent odor of pollen had invaded our sinuses like a virus. For a day each, Kim and Georgia were basically out of commission until OTC meds kicked in. I'm thinking it has a lot to do with pine trees. Trying to see friends and family in one week is a task, indeed. Especially when you're working around the sleep schedule of a 20 month old. Georgia did well...and performed for everyone like the "ham" she is. :) I was fascinated by the amount of dump trucks and construction going on...Mississippi is booming. Unfortunately, due to Katrina. We didn't get a chance to visit the Gulf Coast, however, some situations haven't changed. Businesses are destroyed, people are still l...

I'm still getting used to 2006, it being February, and driving a "modern car." I've been driving a 1983 and then a 1970 Benz since 2000. But, a lot has changed since those days... I've had a 2001 Toyota Solara for two weeks. Black, gray leather, 1 owner, good gas mileage, and below retail. A definite blessing! Especially so after experiencing weeks of either riding to work in the mornings with my News Director, taking the subway and a train home, and being picked up by my wife and child...or taking the train both ways. While I enjoyed the extra time with Kim & Georgia...I just don't see how people spend 3 to 4 hours a day commuting. Talk about draining. Of course, timing it wrong and sitting in your own car in traffic can be a drag, too. Otherwise, Georgia continues to grow! She's walking great and racing around all over the place. Gibbering up a storm with sprinklings of mama, dada, bobo (nickname for "Bones" the cat), maymay (nickname...