Interviewing AC salesmen

Hello all,

I now know where the used car salesmen go when they can not sell cars. They sell Home Comfort Systems. I have visited with three salesmen today. All three had excellent equipment that will cool my home in the summer and heat my home in the winter. The problem is they all think I can't live without their equipment. I just want to have my home cool and allergy free for my wife and kids. I do not need a $10,000 solution. I just need something to heat and cool my home.

-Andy

Hot Sunday

Hello all,

Well, I don't think I have written about his yet, but our AC is not working in our home. Jennifer and I felt that the unit was on its last leg last year and we were right. I have called a few places to set up appointments for tomorrow. This needs to be addressed before it gets really hot.

-Andy

Great Spa

Hello all,

Today Jennifer and I had a spa in Overland Park, KS. It was a great time. The ladies all enjoyed the product and our sales were excellent! Way to go Jennifer. I am really proud of you!

-Andy

Going away lunch for Glen

Hello all,

I went to a going away lunch for Glen Houk today. He was a contractor at Embarq for a year and I have really enjoyed getting to know him since joining the team. We had lunch at Johnny's Tavern next to the campus. It was nice to see the team have fun outside of the office. Good luck Glen!

-Andy

Ali went to work with Jen today

Hello all,

My daughter Alexandria went to work with Jennifer today as part of Take your child to work day. It sounded like a great idea. However, Ali was tired of being at Unimed by lunch time. By 3:00, she was stir crazy. By 5:00, all parties were ready to split company and unwind. I commend Jennifer for taking on this opportunity to share what you do with our daughter. I'll take Zac to my office when he gets older.

As for what we all did tonight, we all watched Survivor and then had some ice cream for a snack. The kids went to bed after 8:30. It was a very enjoyable night.

Good night,

-Andy

Rain

Hello all,

It has been a rain filled day. It is very humid outside today and it feels like summer. The air is not moving very much and it has rained off and on most of the morning. We are expecting heavy storms this afternoon and into the evening.

-Andy

Happy Birthday Danna

Hello all,

Today is my sister Danna's birthday! Happy birthday big sister. I tried to call you today, but you were not answering your phone. I hope you were out having fun and could not hear your phone ring. It was great seeing you this weekend. You looked great. I hope you and Kevin had a wonderful evening out on the town.

-Andy

New Gas Cap

Hello all,

The saga continues with Jennifer's van. Today I replaced the gas cap. I appears that the rubber seal is not creating a tight seal for the gas tank. This leak is causing a vacuum sensor to alarm which in turn makes the check engine light turn on. After an hour at the shop, I was on my way home with a new gas cap.

This evening, Ali, Zac and I had dinner with Grandma Diane at Pizza Shoppe. The kids enjoyed seeing Grandma. Ali could not stop talking about her dance class and what she learned in school. Zac was happy to see Grandma, too. He was focused on eating his three slices of pizza. I think he is growing again.

-Andy

Baptism and back to KC

Hello all,

It was very nice to go to church with my whole family this morning. The service was more traditional than that of Good Shepherd UMC. I enjoyed the pastor's message about being ready to listen to God's calling. It was very nice. Dade did a great job during the baptism. He didn't fuss at all. After the service we went back to my sister Nicole's house for brunch. Ali enjoyed playing with my bother-in-law's family's kids. They all ran around the house. The sounds of kids laughing is great.

The drive home was not so much fun. We fought high winds and rain for most of the trip. To make it worse, the check engine light came on while on the interstate. As if I didn't have enough things on my mind. We finally pulled into our garage at 4:30. I was exhausted from the strain of driving. I just wanted to lay down and take a nap. Thankfully the sever weather did not follow us back to KC. The weather was perfect.

-Andy

Trip to Omaha

Hello all,

After last night's ordeal, it was a late start to our day. The family is on our way to Omaha to attend my nephew's, Dade, baptism. We are going to stay the night at the Holiday Inn Express. It has a pool and a hot tub. The kids are really looking forward to going swimming tonight.

-Andy

Zac to Urgent Care

Hello all,

Tonight I rushed Zac to Urgent Care. He was having a terrible time catching his breath from coughing. At first, Jennifer and I thought it was just a normal allergy related cough, but it soon became persistent and we both began to worry. Thoughts quickly turned to action and I was on my way to Children's Mercy North with Zac in the back seat. The little guy walked in under his own power and sat in the chair next to me as I filled out the paperwork for his admittance.

When it was his turn to be evaluated, his oxygen levels were at 94%. That is really low and prompted Zac to be given two breathing treatments to boost his O2 levels back up near 100%. The nurses were very good and worked quickly to get Zac back to where he needed to be. Once they started to hook Zac up to the monitors, I called Jennifer to come in and be with both of us.

Zac was in the middle of his first breathing treatment when Jennifer and Ali arrived. Zac was VERY happy to see is mom and sister. He was singing and smiling. I could tell he was happy to not be coughing anymore. After 30 minutes, he not showing any sign of the problems he experienced early that night.

It was now close to 9:00 PM and Jennifer and I decided to get Ali home and in bed. I let Ali give her brother a hug and a kiss good-night and we walked out of the clinic.

Jennifer and Zac returned home an hour later with medications from CVS pharmacy. With all of the medication to help Zac breath, he was now wide awake. The little guy didn't know what to do with himself. The steroids gave him the energy of a full night's rest. All Jennifer and I could do was wait for the energy to burn off.

Needless to say it was close to midnight before we all were in bed. It was really some night.

-Andy

Walking around the block

Hello all,

Tonight Jennifer, Ali, Zac and I took a walk around the block together. The kids were able to run ahead a little bit and "win" the race. Jennifer and I continued to maintain our pace as we made an extended loop around our block. Everyone had a good time in the fresh air.

-Andy

Alexandria's dental appointment

Hello all,

Ali has her six month dental appointment today. I'm working from home today so that she can make it to her 4:00 appointment. She is looking forward to showing Dr. Feldhause how "big" she is now. My little girl is growing up so much.

-Andy

Training

Hello all,

Today I received training on the Service Order Interface system. It is one of the four new systems that I will be responsible for supporting. After a two hour presentation, I felt like my head was about to explode. When I talked with my team, they all encouraged me to keep it simple and it will start to make sense in time. I hope that they are right.

-Andy

New Dryer

Hello all,

Tonight I installed the new Kenmore HE2 Plus dryer in our utility room. The installation guide stated that a novice should expect to spend two and a half hours on this project. I completed it in about that time. The hardest part was wiring the dryer for the plug. I really didn't want to mess it up so I took my time and double checked my work. By 9:00, our clothes were tumbling in the new dryer. Zac approved of my work as he watched the towels through the clear window in the front of the unit.

-Andy

Dryer quit

Hello all,

About three months ago our washing machine quit. Now tonight our dryer quit. I knew something was wrong when I could smell something burning. I quickly unplugged it and pulled the clothes out. The drum had seized. It is time to head to Sears again.

-Andy

Haircut

Hello all,

This afternoon we all had our hair cut. Zac had his hair buzzed with a #2 clip. Ali had 3 inches cut off and her hair is now above her shoulders. Jennifer had her hair cut four inches and layered. I did not have my hair cut as short as Zac's. I stopped at a #3 on the side and trimmed up the top. We all look very sharp with our fancy new do's!

-Andy

FRIDAY

Hello all,

Well, Ali's nose is better today. She does have a nice bruise that has formed across the bride of her nose. She has complained about it being sensitive to the touch. I think she will need to be patient and let it heal.

-Andy

Bloody nose

Hello all,

Tonight we had a little accident in the house. Both Ali and Zac were running around playing. Laughter was in the air and both Jennifer and I could tell that it was only a matter of time before the laughter would turn to tears. We sat both kids down a few times and told them they needed to settle down. After sitting for a few minutes, they were up and at it again. This time, we could not stop the forces of nature from taking matters into its own hands. Ali tripped over her own two feet and hit her nose. Found herself sitting on the couch with an ice bag on her nose for the rest of the night. Zac was confined to jail on my lap. It was soon bedtime and we all went upstairs to say our prayers together.

I hope Ali feels better in the morning.

-Andy

Confirmation class

Hello all,

Tonight Andy (yeah I know, two teachers named Andy in one class)and myself had the pleasure of leading our confirmation class at Good Sheperd UMC. We have a great class. Jacob, Alex, Mike and JJ are great young men and really are striving to better understand their faith and their role in this world. Tonight we spoke about our responsibity as a church to take care of not only ourselves, but the community. I feel like after the two hour class, they understood what is expected of them as they mature. Both Andy and I are very pleased with their progress in their faith.

Good night,

-Andy

Wow

Hello all,

I have been struggling to come up with something interesting to say for several days. Unfortunately, my life is not that interesting right now. I am still working at Embarq and getting acquainted with my new team members on the EMS, NIM and E911 systems. I am trying to finish up working on a few projects for SODS. I'm sorry that I don't have anything really exiting to talk about.

-Andy

Still cold

Hello all,

For being April 9th, you would think it would feel more like Spring. It is a cold 34° outside. It snowed a little bit on my way into work today. HOW can it snow in April?

-Andy

Happy Easter!

Hello all,

Happy Easter! What a wonderful day. I had the best night's sleep in MONTHS last night. Thank you Jennifer for agreeing to purchase the sleep number bed. You are the best!

-Andy

New Sleep Number Bed

Hello all,

For many months Jennifer and I have been tossing the idea of getting a new mattress for our bed. Neither of us are sleeping very well on it. We have tried flipping the mattress and other remedies. Today was a new day. We bought a new king size sleep number bed. Our numbers are both 35 if you can believe that. The bed we purchased as memory foam in it. This will allow the mattress to conform to our body and help keep our back and neck in line. I can't wait to go to sleep tonight!

-Andy

Cold Friday

Hello all,

Tonight Jennifer and I went out dinner with Diane at Margarita's. The kids really enjoyed their cheese tacos. Jennifer and I were not that hungry so we split a meal. After dinner, we went back to the house and watched the Royals game.

-Andy

Taking Jeff Ratcliff out today for lunch

Hello all,

The SODS team took Jeff Ratcliff out for a farewell lunch. He has taken a new job within Embarq and I will miss working with him. Good luck Jeff.

-Andy

Back at work

Hello all,

I made it into work today. I'm not 100% yet, but at least I'm giving it a go.
-Andy

Home again

Hello all,

Well, I am feeling better today. I am able to get out of bed and get around the house. When I got up this morning I thought I would be able to go to work; however it was not to be. I started getting dressed when my stomach started to flip and flop. My fear was that I would be at work and get sick.

-Andy

Not feeling well today

Hello all,

I'm not feeling well today. I was up with both kids this weekend when they were sick. It appears that I have contracted whatever bug they have. I am running a fever and generally miserable.

-Andy

Ali not feeling well tonight

Hello all,

My son and daughter attended a birthday part for a friend today. They had a great time running and playing at Charles's house. After the party, Ali and Zac had dinner and got ready for bed. They both went to bed easily for Jen and I which was nice. At 11:30, I hear my daughter scream for Mommy! She had gotten sick in bed and was in need of assistance to clean herself up. Once she was out of bed, the task of cleaning up the floor and both bunk beds fell to me. I don't know if it was the cake from the birthday party or just the random acts of a child's stomach. I do know that I did not enjoy cleaning it up.

Good night,

-Andy