End of New Horizons

March 19, 2008

For those who might be paying attention, Beckah found the meaning of our future child's name, London. It is English (obviously) and means "Fortress of the Moon". How cool is that? I looked it up on Wikipedia as well as a few other sites which confirmed it.

There have been some rather large changes in my life recently. I was laid off from New Horizons on very good terms. The issue was budget, as in there was not enough to pay my salary, so I won the selection on who gets to go home. I didn't miss a beat though. The very day I was laid off I had two interviews lined up within hours and I have no doubt that God's hand is at work. I beleive he is providing a better future and I totally trust in his work. There are some very exciting things happening which I will share more of in the future!

Building a Nursery

March 7, 2008

The time has come, friends. Time for a good old fashioned journal entry. I know it has been months again. I have few excuses that are of value. But here they are anyway! I have been redesigning the entire site with a new look. But the focus on this redesign as been pure functionality for my users as well as for me, the lone guy who has to manage this data. I will spare you the gory details, but this is the best I've had this site working in my entire life. It's very dynamic. Perhaps in a future entry I will bring out my full nerdiness and get the details going.

But enough of that. People come here for stories and pictures, so let's do it. Beckah and I have been focusing mostly on being pregnant. As of this writing we are 8 weeks away from scheduled birth. The baby is healthy and we are as ready as we can be. I know experienced parents would tell us that we are fools and we have no experience and we are NOT ready. But consider my statement: We are as ready as we CAN be. We have bags packed for the hospital trip, we have lists, we have the nursery fully put together, we have clothes, high chair, and the works. I have lots of pictures of the nursery coming together.

The first thing is the paint. Our house is all tan on the inside, which I think is a great color. But we decided on sonic green as our color and sonic is a good adjective. Beckah and I both painted, but I did most of it because there is something about paint fumes that just seem bad for a pregnant mother. We did it over the course of three weekends but seriously it was about 6 hours of work not counting the prep time. Its the first time I ever painted with a roller instead of a sprayer. We had fun with it. Mom (or I guess I'll have to start calling her Grandma soon) made an appearance during the painting to offer words of wisdom.

Once the room was painted we ordered furniture. I'm proud of Beckah because she researched all the costs and safety ratings of all the furniture and we saved a lot of money and got some high quality furniture. But guess who had to put it together? After learning several new words and deciphering Chinese instructions I came out as the victor. That was a nice warm-up, but next came the changing table. I've never put something like that together. It was rough and my hands still have blisters on them. Next was a gliding rocker and then hanging the pictures, all of which were hand painted by Beckah. The finished crib and changer made for a very proud mother. Dad tried to capture the finished product with a panorama image. It's not perfect but there it is.

In other news, I have been working hard at my job and recently went to Chicago to do some voter training with a company called Sequoia. They are like Diebold, a maker of voting machines. My job was to oversee the phone team as calls were taken in a large warehouse. Eight of us from New Horizons went there and we even had some time off to see the aquarium and history museum there. I was there four days and it was very foggy the whole time. I did go to the top of the Sears Tower, but you couldn't see 2 inches past the windows. It was like looking into pea soup.

Kai is still my little champion. He has taken to stalking, hunting and barking at shadows constantly though. Don't know how to break him of that. With spring coming Beckah and I took him to Murray Park recently. He ended up swimming in the river despite very cold water and he loved it. He also had at least a few opportunities to chase ducks. He is one happy dog! Beckah has been experiementing with a new camera she got for Christmas and has found some settings she likes. What do you think of this one?

I will try to update more often, which is an oft made promise I know. But I mean it this time!

Another Country Christmas

December 31, 2007

Christmas has happened and I have lots of pictures and events and stories, so this will be a good journal entry. Let's start with before the holiday. I built an igloo in the backyard. I didn't get a picture of the finished product and the igloo has since melted and caved in. But this gives you an idea of the size anyway. When I was done you could stand up while hunching over and given enough survival instinct you could have slept in the little Craig-loo.

For the Christmas holiday Beckah and I went to Tennessee, which means we had the Greenwood Christmas early. Mom, Dad, Eddie, Brittany, Beckah and Craig (and technically London) were all in attendance. We had food and fun and it was a great time. Shortly after Beckah and I boarded a plane for Tennessee and had no flight problems. In fact we had a direct flight both to and from Tennessee which was AWESOME. It was a three hour flight with no changing planes. We first met Judy and Jerry and then drove to Smithville (pronounced S'mithvul if you're a native). Then the family started showing up.

I will admit the following paragraph is just an excuse to post pictures of family. I was told that my nieces Sarah, Judith and Hannah check this page every day for new pictures so this is for them! One event that happened was Beckah's family threw a baby shower for London and her parents. The whole family was there and some surprise guests from Murfreesboro. I wish more of Beckah's college friends had come because we didn't get a chance to see most of them on this trip. Not for lack of trying though. In any case, at the shower we got a lot of baby clothes and gift certificates, which really made me happy. We have to buy furniture and that will be a huge help. In addition to that Beckah's sister, Tina, who had niece Hailey 18 months ago, gave us all of Hailey's clothes which is a giant blessing. Beckah is happy, Craig is happy, London won't be naked, Tina got rid of stuff. Everyone won!

As I get to know the Tennessee family more and more, I find I like them all more and more, especially the kids. I love all the kids equally and I am not playing favorites here, we just happened to spend a lot more time with Gavin because Hurl and Waltyne baby sit him while Holly is at work. One thing we did was take Gavin to the park and feed the ducks, which was tons of fun. He is such a well behaved boy. He listened and obeyed, never had a tantrum or anything. I was totally floored by how much fun he is. He laughs at jokes and he is creative enough to joke back and actually be funny. He is a little ham sometimes.

Another little story is when Sarah and I went on a walk with Isaac through the woods near Beckah's house. We had a real human adult conversation without distractions. She was telling me about school and growing up in Tennessee. It was very refreshing. All the family trickled in and out all week but as Christmas approached we were all together in one place. Tyler showed up but I didn't get to spend much time with him. He is like his brother Gavin though and is very smart and fun and you can really hold a genuine conversation with him.

Christmas occurred and presents were opened. I am excited first and as always to celebrate Christ's birthday. I really try to make an effort for that to be the reason. It's harder and harder to do that, especially with such a large family, but it was certainly on my mind that day. Of course presents are easier to talk about because we can hold presents, but in truth, they are secondary to Christ, and that's how I feel. That said, I received Halo 3, The Simpson's Movie (and other Simpson's paraphernalia), a few books and CDs, and a number of gift cards that I don't know how I will spend yet! It was a great Christmas in terms of physical items. One item Beckah gave to her sister, Toni, was a scrapbook Beckah made of Toni's poems she wrote as a young girl. Beckah worked for many hours on putting it together and it is worth mentioning here.

At that point lunch was served, family showed up again and we started taking portrait type pictures. I wanted to account for as much of the family as I could, and I realize not everyone is here, but here goes:

• Tina, Tim and Hailey
• Toni, Greg, Justin and Judith
• Andy, Jaime, Judith, Hannah and Isaac
• Cindy was there but I lack an image as of this writing (Sorry!)
• Hurl and Waltyne
• Holly, Brad, Tyler and Gavin
• Beckah, Craig and womb-London

Like I said there were more people there but these were the pictures I took. I mostly wanted to capture the immediate family, which I believe I have done. I also wanted to mention Justin and his amazing dog, who loved Beckah very much. (Inside joke, you'd get it if you were there!) Another thing I want to cover is my father-in-law, Hurl Olen Cantrell. I like Hurl quite a bit, and if I was from Tennessee I would say he was a "good ol' boy", and then I would trail off in a series of "reckon", "fixin' ta", "ya'll" and "supper". Now, Hurl likes hunting and guns; I'm not sure which one comes first. I of course have had little to no experience with either. So it is terrifying to see a picture of me with a rifle. Hurl on the other hand can shoot the caps off of bottles with a hand gun without even taking the time to aim. One gift he got for Christmas was a rifle-holder-thingy-so-you-can-line-up-your-scope-and-kill-things. That's probably not the technical term but it will do for me. Hurl used it and was very happy with the results. It's always nice to know that two men can go out in the forest and just destroy some innocent plastic bottles.

Since this is still my journal I get to brag a little, right? Hurl was having a hard time getting out of his chair one night and I remembered what my dad did when he had his back surgery. He built a little stand for his recliner so he wouldn't have to stand up from so low down. So I found some wood in Hurl's garage, found his tools, and with his permission built a little chair lift. I was so proud because I planned it, measured, cut, nailed, screwed, tested and everything and it worked with immediate results. And we are not talking databases and web pages here. I actually touched metal and made a three dimensional object. It felt very good and I think it will help Hurl and I am very pleased with said action. I only hope Hurl likes it, which I think he does. We will see how it survives over the year!

After Christmas was Waltyne's birthday. We went out for Chinese, which I admit is a taste that is growing on me. I had fun making Hailey laugh. We headed home and went to work the next day and as I write this we are preparing for New Years, and by that I mean I will be playing Halo 3 tonight!

Happy 2008. The coming year will be a big one with a new Greenwood spawn and lots more stories!

Political Views

December 20, 2007

My classes at work have been going very well. I think this is the best month I've had so far in terms of class scores.

This is a short entry! I always have things I want to say until I sit down and start writing these entries and then it all leaves me. Perhaps a political diatribe?

Let's see...

RIght now the caucus elections are gearing up for 2008. On the democrat side we have Hillary and Barak. Looks like its going to be one of them. On the republican side we have Romney, Giuliani, Huckabee and McCain. I won't comment on the democrat candidates, other than it seems to be painfully obvious they shouldn't win. I don't mean they won't or can't...I'm just saying, for the sanity of the nation, it would be wise for them to sit down. For the republicans, I'm in the same boat the rest of the elephants are in. Most of them are fine. If we had to whittle them down, (and ultimatley we do) Romney is the easiest to dispatch. As far as I am concerned, he was responsible for the olympics coming to Utah and either directly or indirectly responsible for more lax laws regarding liquor sales in the state. We simply can not reward such behavior. Plus he apparently said he was for abortion at some point in his career. Not wise for a supposedly conservative candidate. I hold no personal grudges, but if its a demo vs. Romney, I'll vote libertarian.

Giuliani almost has the same issue. He claims to be against abortion but supports the choice of others as a right. That splits me down the middle. I like that he is not for abortion, but if you're not for it, then be not for it for everyone. But how can we be fair in America and insist no one get an abortion? If it were me I'd sign a law into effect that no one gets abortions ever period, unless the mother is pregnant with insane murdering alien babies or something. That's my only black mark agains him though, and its a gray mark.

I like Hucakbee a LOT. He seems to shoot from the hip and was a former minister with superb values. I'd totally vote for him. But I don't think he will win the caucus. Just a gut feeling. McCain I also really like. The only mark against McCain is his age. He should have run in Dole's place against Clinton. He may have and I don't remember it, but at this point I'd rather see someone younger in office. Shoot, next election I will be over 35 and eligible to run.

Yeah, that makes for a good entry. No research, just babble on what I think about the election. This will be a fun entry to read after the election is over. I just hope I spelled causcus right. kawcuss? Cahkis? Couscous? I think that's a rice dish. Where is Reagan when you need him?

Healthy Fetus and a Birthday

November 16, 2007

Life has been very busy. We are getting prepared for the baby, we are still moving and unpacking, the holidays are upon us, work is going strong. There just aren't enough hours in the day. Let's talk about the baby first. Last week Beckah and I went in for our second appointment with the baby doctor. Beckah was so eager to find out the sex of the baby we paid for an ultrasound even though we weren't scheduled for one until next month. Guess what? It's a girl! Or they tell us. I think the technician's exact words were, "I am 100% beyond a shadow of doubt that you are having a girl." So, with shaky language like that you can never be sure. Since it is a girl we are naming her London Lane Greenwood. I like "Lane", Beckah likes "Laine". I see no reason for extra vowels. We are 90% set on that as the name, but technically we are still open.

The doctor said she is mostly skin and bones and the images look a little alien. My favorite picture was one of her that looked like she was having her own personal disco. We just found out today that the baby is healthy according to all blood tests which I am very thankful for. Next will be painting the baby's new nursery, filling it with furniture and clothes and then hopefully one baby.

Beckah also had a birthday recently. She turned 25. A quarter of a century. Man that is OLD! She got some gifts that I think made her happy. She got enough massage tools to be happy for a year.

I am just about done with the outside projects related to the house. The sprinkler system is in and working. I think I saved about $1,000 by doing it myself, and I learned alot, but I do not think I would do it again. Maybe I would. It is fun to put stuff together and make decisions and work with your hands. It was very thrilling to see my creation come to life when I plugged it in for the first time. I am sure if I did do it again, I could do it better. But my back and hands took a lot of pain in the process. Manual labor would be fun work if it wasn't for the pain involved! I failed to get many pictures of myself working on the sprinklers, however the last element was laying the sod and I had some help. The entire Achenbach family showed up to help me, which I was SO greatful for. Ray, Joey and Ethel as well my dad helped me lay it. We got it all finished in half a day, which was great considering it took about 4 weeks for me to do the sprinklers!

As I write this I am almost done installing the garage door opener. Then I can focus on inside projects, like the nursery and eventually the basement!

Work is still fun. Of all the instructors there I teach the highest quantity of classes, which is a title I like. I want to get learning Linux and Oracle stuff next. I just can't find the time to do it. As things slow down for Christmas I should be able to find some holes in the work schedule to do some new things. Who knows? Maybe someday I will find some time to finish the PHP stuff I started 6 months ago!

London Grows

October 28, 2007

Tuesday Beckah and I went in for our first visit with Beckah's OB/GYN, called the baby doctor from thenceforth. We were there for the first check up. We got to ask basic questions and more importantly we got to see a sonogram of the baby. I knew it would be intense and I wanted to document the experience here. Beckah layed down and they greased up her stomach. The nurse put the instrument on her belly and instantly the baby came into view. There was no question, no hunting or looking. Just, instant baby. It was very cool just to be able to recognize that there was a kid in there. Beckah and I were both mystified, not beyond speech but it was just a nice albeit expected magic moment. But then the baby flexed his back and it jumped up half the height of the TV screen. I had no idea it would actually move and that we would be able to see it move. Then the baby just continued to rock out, twitching and moving his arms and legs. It was so cool! Beckah said she couldn't feel anything at all but we were both watching this little critter go crazy.

We also out that we are 12 weeks along, which is a week further than we thought. The baby's due date is April 30th, 2008. We did get some images as well. The most interesting pictures were the ones of a recognizable baby. They took pictures of a foot and you could pick out the umbilical chord as well.

Further bulletins as event warrant!

The Flood of 2007 and Announcement of London

September 17, 2007

I have an amazing story. As you know Beckah and I have had the idea to purchase two homes, move into one, sell the other and sell our current condo. There has been much weeping and gnashing of teeth but long story short we did not qualify for financing on the investment home. I don't want to talk too much about that because the builder is saying we intentionally slowed down the process and is threatening legal action and I don't want this journal to come back and bite me. But the more interesting story is with the home we planned on living in.

We finally closed on it and began moving in on Tuesday, September 4th. We just moved boxes and little stuff we could take over in our cars. On Wednesday I ordered the water turned on and they said it would be turned on Thursday morning. That was acceptable. Thursday was the one day I could get hold of a trailer and my brother, Eddie. So we spent Thursday after work loading the trailer. We drove to the house and arrived about 8:30 and it was dark. I opened the door and thought, "Wow, it sure is humid in here. I guess I should have left the air conditioner on. Oh well, no matter. What is that funny sound? It sounds like plastic being crinkled." I noticed there was a roll of bubble wrap and thought, "Wow, maybe the humidity shrunk the bubble wrap and when I opened the door the pressure changed and now its expanding. No matter, I think I will turn the lights on." Then my jaw dropped.

It looked like a rain forest. Water was dripping through the ceiling, down the walls, all over the floor, dripping on the boxes we had moved the previous few days. My brain said, "No, no, no!". The water was coming from upstairs. As I ran up the stairs my mind raced and thought "What happened? Did it rain? No. There must be a leak in the pipes. What will I find upstairs? I got upstairs and the tub was turned on. Not full-blast, but on enough. The bathtub was full and just pouring over. I quickly turned off the tub and listened for other sounds of running water. I heard lots of dripping and ran around checking the other faucets and found they were all off. Then I began taking in the damage. I noticed I was standing in water and noticed the carpet was soaked through.

Meanwhile, Dad, Eddie and Beckah were outside parking the trailer and beginning to unload. I yelled outside, "Don't unload anything, you oughtta see this." They came in. I began moving boxes out of the puddles, I think Eddie ran downstairs and turned off the water to the house, which was good thinking, because at the time I didn't know if it was a leak or if it was leaking anywhere else. I began looking at the boxes and moving bowls to catch the still falling water. I wasn't thinking clearly. I knew there was a trailer of stuff outside but I had to just breathe and take it in. Dad said I completely panicked and fell apart. I'm not sure it was that extreme, but I was unable to move past the wet house. Beckah was extremely level-headed. She was totally together and not phased. She helped move some of the things out of the way. Then dad said, "Do you want to unload the trailer or take it back home." I decided to unload it, which we did.

I was very worried that it was my fault and that I would have to pay and that was the scariest thing about it. As the next few days unfolded it turns out that the person who turned the water on was supposed to check and see if any water was flowing, and he did not. So the city's insurance policy is paying for the fixes. As we speak the house has been dried by a company called Serv-Pro, and the adjusters have begun taking estimations. Then I think they will write me a check and its up to me to pay and get it fixed. I will hire McArthur Homes since it's their house. I am told this process will take 2-3 weeks, which in construction time is about 4-5 weeks probably.

Out of the ashes of disaster comes incredible things though. Beckah and I learned we were pregnant. This is a wonderful thing. I am looking very forward to that. I can't express it. The due date is May 7th, 2008. I want to include everything about the pregnancy so that Craig Jr. can look back one day and realize what his/her father experienced. Another Phoenix from the ashes is that it looks like we sold our condo. We are waiting to hear today if there is an official offer and how much that offer is for. Assuming that looks good we should have it sold.

I wish I had pictures however most our stuff is packed away so I will have to put those together later. Until next time!

Real Estate Woes

August 19, 2007

So here is the house update. As of this moment, no houses have sold and none have been moved into. The West Jordan investment house I was totally unable to sell and I told the builder I had to walk away from it. They didn't like that and insisted I buy it. So now I am buying it and trying to find renters. In fact today I am on my way to an open house and I am expecting 10-12 visitors who are potential leasers. The plan is to sell the house once it has renters, but then again I may hang on to it for two years so I can sell without paying taxes. In fact one direction this could go is I will do this with ten other houses and be a professional land lord. For the time that's not what I want, but ask me in a few weeks.

Meanwhile I haven't been able to sell the condo on Geralee Lane. I have no idea why. We've had a few visitors and some interest but not a single offer. The price is the lowest in the area and it is as advertised as it can be. But that's not the scary part.

I am supposed to close on the house in Herriman on Monday. With no sales I have no cash to bring to the closing. Which means I had to refinance my condo in order to have the cash. However, the refinance is not ready until Thursday and I don't even know what's going to happen on Monday. We may have to wait until Thursday to close which is bad because Beckah and I both have taken off work to go to closing and to move. Another idea is to take money out of my 401(k), which is not what I have ever wanted to do in the slightest. I think another idea is to put the closing costs on my Discover Card, which sounds good actually. Once the house refinance goes through I would be able to pay that off and get the cash back from Discover. At least I think.

What I hate is that I am having to do all this juggling with money. That was not part of the plan. These houses were supposed to sell and this was all supposed to be done. But I won't whine. I am trying my best to land this all with success for a number of reasons. I want to exercise my business ability, I want to maintain my credit rating, I want to increase my assets, I want to impress my Dad, I want to impress my wife, and I want to be in control. There are probably more reasons but those are the ones in my head now.

Miscarriage

July 13, 2007

As many of you know, Beckah and I experienced a miscarriage with our baby. It has been a sad event and I wanted to capture the moment on the journal, however life has been so hectic with everything going on. I want to capture all of it and I don't know how to do any of it justice.

First things first, Beckah and I have experienced so much support from friends and family regarding the loss of the baby. I could say, too much support (which is a good thing). We were only five weeks into the pregnancy. We were just going in for our first check up. At one moment in the Doctor's office we were worried and then we knew what had happened. The Doctor kept referring to the baby as "The Pregnancy" which was very strange to us. We kept thinking of it as "our baby". Believe me it is still surreal to talk like that--like a father. But every way I dissect it, that's what it was. Our baby.

There were lots of details and hours of waiting, but I want to share the most meaningful thing that happened to me that night. The doctor's wanted to insure that we had in fact miscarried, and they do that with an ultrasound. During the ultra sound I held my wife's hand and stared at the screen and prayed to find a baby. There was no baby found, but I was fascinated with that moment. I see that kind of thing on TV all the time and I just think, "Yeah, yeah, modern technology, some mother, blah blah [click]," and I'm done. But this time it was me staring at a screen hoping with every fiber of my being that there was a heartbeat that would appear. It was really an amazing experience.

In conclusion, Beckah and I will try again. It may not be immediately. Perhaps God allowed this simply to prepare us for the future. We both learned a lot. I personally feel more ready now than I was before.

In the next journal entry I would like to discuss the ongoing sales efforts in regards to the houses we have purchased, as well as post some images. Until next time...

Eddie Weds and Chance Begins

July 1, 2007

It has been a busy life for the Greenwood family. A list of things has happened to almost every Greenwood and a couple of O'Connells. I recommend reading this entire entry as there are surprises within. In the last entry I discussed Eddie getting married. That has taken place and went very well. I was the best man (and I still am). The wedding was really nice. It was the most fun wedding I have ever gone to. I think it was because I knew a lot of people there. Paul and Michelle came to the wedding from California.

Ashli, Brian, Abby and Ally flew in for the wedding. While Brian had to leave shortly after the wedding, Ashli and the kids got to stick around for two and a half weeks. Brian did get a chance to see the mountains in Utah. (He is actually coming back to Utah in a few weeks for a prison convention of some sort.) One reason Ashli and the kids wanted to stick around was to do a Jewelry show for Ashli. You see, Ashli sells Premier Jewelry as a home business (and does quite well at it) and she wanted to do a show in Utah. Ashli wanted to wait until Brittany came back from the honeymoon before doing the show. This gave opportunity for some great uncle time. Plus it was Mom's birthday and father's day.

The day after Eddie and Brittany's wedding I started painting the investment house in West Jordan. That took five days and at this point I'm still not done. I have to go back for touch up work in a few weeks. Mom had a birthday party and father's day happened somewhere in there. Eddie and Brittany came back and they told us of their trip to Cancun including their scuba diving adventure. That made me jealous! Eddie saw a shark and lots of fish. I must now go scuba diving. Another major event was teaching Abby to ride a bike. We practiced a lot with training wheels. While we didn't succeed in conquering balance, we did overcome the general fear of the bike over the course of two weeks. Abby made great progress under my and dad's tutelage. Abby was enjoying it and her senses were really opening up. I think she needs a few more days and some time to herself and some open pavement and she'll be great. We also introduced Ally to the idea of a bike.

Finally at the end of the weekend the whole family went to Bridal Veil Falls. I looked at our family, all five immediate members. Phyllis, Larry, Ashli, Craig and Eddie (Or P.L.A.C.E. as we call ourselves). Plus Abby and Ally (Brittany couldn't make it). It has been 2 years at least since we were all gathered in the same place. Since my and Beckah's wedding if memory serves. In any case I told them all what I am about to tell you. Beckah and I ARE HAVING A BABY! Yes, we are with child. We can even match the conception date to June 9th 2007, however Beckah feels doing so on the journal may be inappropriate. I feel it will be important to an individual (the kid) in the future. Honestly, if you could know the date and circumstances of your conception, would you want to? I will let you chew on that.

As of this writing we havn't even been to a doctor to officially confirm, but suffice to say we are sure. We have discussed names (Tavian, Selah, and London are currently winning), bought books, and done all the things I'm sure new parents do up to this point. I am personally looking forward to it. Playing with Abby and Ally this week has got me ready for a girl. But a baby boy would be SO cool. Officially I would be happy with either, but I do have a preference. We will see what the future holds.

Speaking of the real estate market, I have entered the market for both the houses I am selling. That has been interesting research. I'm not ready for my real estate license yet, but I have learned how to make money. Well, as long as I can sell the houses! I am selling both via For Sale By Owner. I have currently listed the houses on as many free sites as possible, including Craigslist.com (no relation), and www.forsalebyowner.com. I also created a Website for each property, Geralee Lane and Cedar Hill Road. By the way, if you know anyone who needs a house, let me know!

See, I told you! Busy week!