Below are the most recent 12 friends' journal entries.

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
robkni	8:34p	Woke up pretty early this morning and made breakfast for the bigs kids (who had the day off since it was Veteran's Day) and the babies (who didn't get home until 7:15 when James dropped them off). Jody got to sleep in for once. Put the girls in the tub and they got out after only around fifteen minutes which is unusual but not that unusual. After that was bottles while watching Barney (curse you, you purple bastard); and by that time it was the mommy show because Jody was up. Never-the-less, I got some pretty good baby time and the older kids were in a good mood and were helpful to boot, so all in all, not a bad morning. It was hard leaving Jody because a) she wanted to cuddle, and b) wasn't feeling that well, so I felt bad leaving but that whole work thing calls, so whatareyagonnado? On the way in to work, I stopped by to pick up Amy since she didn't have her car and we rolled in at around 9:40 or so... a bit later than I like but not too bad. The day was only moderately productive so I'm planning on getting in a bit early tomorrow. The girls were happy to see me and were full of smiles, which is always nice; For dinner, I made rosemary chicken with gravy (which was a big hit) and roasted carrots and potatoes. No story again tonight because the older kids were really tired. Things are moving at a pretty good pace with the house -- it looks like Chuck's boss Andrew is going to be our general contractor, and if all is well, (fingers crossed) we'll sign papers and close on Monday, but we'll see. Now, time to meditate, then to bed. For someone so lazy, my days are pretty full. And I need to start making time to run. Out. (Comment on this)
sykii	9:16a	Remembrance ( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. ) (Comment on this)
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
robkni	7:51p	Better to be lucky than good... Lovely night last night... talking, hanging out and such. Stayed up too late though. We were talking about all kinds of things and I trotted out one of my stock observations -- an interesting one though, the subtext of "Jack and the Beanstalk". My twenty five cent analysis goes like this: When Jack's mom tells Jack to sell the cow it is because she's given up all hope. A cow can produce milk even during a famine because they can eat straw and grass and such -- things humans can't eat. A cow is a symbol of prosperity during hard times. If she stops giving milk or things get so bad she must be sold, it is an acknowledgement that there is no hope for the future and the only thing to do is to, "eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we SHALL die". When Jack trades the cow for magic beans it is because he HAS NOT given up hope, on the contrary, he is the symbol of grasping at the faintest hope instead of giving up. In many versions of the story, Jack is called, "Jack the Giant Slayer", which is a great metaphor for someone who defeats hopelessness. This conversation got me thinking of the wisdom of fairy tales, how important they are to my world view, and that train of thought led me to the idea of luck. Both Michael and I think of ourselves as, "lucky" (though my luck never extends to throwing dice in strategy games, but that's another story... ;-)) Anyway, in some ways it feels like I've led a charmed life. Certainly I've had my share of challenges, but on the balance, the fates have been pretty good to me. An interesting question is, "why"? One answer, that I came up with today, is that there are things we can do to make luck smile on us. And I think one key to this having an affinity for, and even loving, outcomes that have no tangible, personal benefit. There's a story about Thomas Edison, where, after having sunk his entire fortune into a cellulose factory, he comes running home to his wife and excitedly says, "Come quick! You have to see this! It's the most incredible fire you'll ever see in your entire life." I think that an appreciation of the ebb and flow of life and it's wacky twists and turns can allow one to follow a path that leads to all kinds of wonderful things. Maybe it's because it's not crowded there. Maybe it's about just seeing things that people focused on their own interests, miss. In any event,  I feel fortunate. So, Fates... thanks. I know I don't deserve it, but it's pretty nice. And the view is lovely :-) (Comment on this)
Monday, November 9th, 2009
robkni	8:32p	Oy Hard day. Not a bad day... We had our Scrum training and planning session today and many people were not pleased. It felt like everyone (except, amusingly, my fiancee who has nothing but contempt for Scrum) was filled with all the rage in the world and they wanted to share. With me. Just oy. Anyway, got a flu shot after the meeting with Amy... the woman administering the shots was kind of odd -- kept asking questions like, "why do you want a flu shot? Why do you have so many kids?" I like the crazies, but I was tired and wasn't quite feeling the love. In the car when we got home, Jody made an innocent remark about a work conversation with Chase and I got really upset all of a sudden. Then asked her if she was BFFs with Chase now? Needless to say, she felt bad. I mean, WTF? I don't even know where that came from. Jody has given me no reason to feel even a little insecure. In fact, she's gone farther than is reasonable (and done things like block him from IM that I would NEVER ask her to do) just so I wouldn't feel bad or threatened or jealous. And sure, Chase irritates me and he often gives me reason to be annoyed with him, work-wise and otherwise, but normally I'm pretty good keeping it in perspective. I guess I was just feeling hammered. I hate it when I act badly. Later Jody and I talked -- she was sweet and decent and loving and it helped. A lot. I don't talk/write very much about the intimate details of our relationship, in part because it's so close to me I have no perspective and in part because it's hard to describe. I love having a partner who's commited to communication. Who has emotional intelligence, empathy and objectivity that she applies in how she interacts with me. Who loves who I am and says, with affection and mock annoyance, "That's how men are". It's funny... there are times when she says that I feel more loved than I can remember ever feeling in my life. Funny, huh? But I don't think most of the really good stuff that we share translates very easily. I love reading her school work and talking about it with her. I love it when she tells me about posts on theknot.com. I love talking late into the night about the house, vacations, the girls, the older kids... laying together on our backs or her on my chest, hands entwined, different topics and feelings rolling, rising, and falling like waves on the ocean. Feeling happy, elated, silly, empassioned, strident, parental, protective, restless, hopeful, sleepy... and both in the same boat, rising, falling, and rising again, together. I am so happy to be with my beloved. I am so happy that she needs me, appreciates me, loves me, wants me, and feels grateful to be with me. Because that's how I feel about her. (Comment on this)
Sunday, November 8th, 2009
sykii	11:43p	( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. ) (1 Comment |Comment on this)
robkni	8:13p	Today felt busy but in hindsight, I guess it wasn't really... Jody and I went to steak night last night and I got to meet a bunch of her friends (and Michelle whom I'd met in Las Vegas when we went in the end of September). They were really nice and a bit crazy. It was all women except for me but that was fine. It went pretty late and we didn't get home until after 11:00 -- and that was without going to see a movie. The bigger kids didn't get dropped off back home until just a little while ago, but James dropped off Alice and Charlotte at around 7:00 this morning. They were big sweeties all day, but really tired... they were so exhausted this morning they tried climbing into their beds at 9:45 so we put them down and didn't get them up until after 2:00 (though they didn't sleep the whole time... they were partying down for a while before we got them up). I did a short run this afternoon, then we stopped by the old house to drop off some money for the yardwork Amy and Jeff did, then went to the Children's Museum with the girls. Headed home and got dinner ready, then I went out to pick up Chinese while Jody put the girls down for the night. Now time to read to the kids (though Camden is still in the bath...), then meditate, then bed. Tomorrow is the first day of Scrum training plus Sprint 1 planning for the team. Out. (Comment on this)
Saturday, November 7th, 2009
robkni	10:43a	I'm starving. No breakfast yet because I'm waiting to go have brunch/breakfast with the woman. Jody's dad is supposed to pick up the big kids to take back to Tacoma but isn't here yet; James has already gotten Charlotte and Alice. Jody is finishing up her shower while talking to Emilia in the bathroom and I'm lying in bed (dressed and mostly ready) so I figured I'd knock this out real quick. Jody's friend Jennie came up from Tacoma with her son to pick up some baby clothes (she's due in Feburary) and it was baby chaos (a fun version) last night. Patrick (Jenny's son) was running around like a 2 1/2 year old boy (because, well, he is one...), Alice and Charlotte were having fun wandering around piles of baby clothes, Ana left at around 6:00 and seemed pretty happy to get out of here. Heh. We had left-overs for dinner and watched a couple of Simpsons episodes, then I read to the kids, meditated, and went to bed. Jody and I went to sleep relatively early and I got to sleep in this morning, so other than being STARVING, I'm pretty happy. After brunch, Jody is going to work on a paper for school, then we're going to hang out for a bit, maybe catch a moving or something, then Jody's going to steak night with some of her friends and we get to finish off our evening together. Sounds like a pretty good day, all in all. :-) (Comment on this)
Friday, November 6th, 2009
robkni	10:14a	Last night was fantastic. Life gets in the way of the important stuff too often, but last night was lots of one on one time with the fiancee... talking, being silly, cuddling and such. Really good stuff. We were up until almost 2:00 but I must have done something right because Jody let me sleep in this morning. :-) At least until Jared rolled in with a big pile of laundry that got dumped on the dresser. And then Emilia came in and says, "I love you, Robert. Watcha' doin'?" Well, clearly not sleeping. :-) Dinner was veggie/potatoe enchiladas which were really tasty but ruined the children because the sauce was medium instead of mild. Reading "The Silver Chair" was happy because they were laughing hysterically during the parts I was hamming up, especially Glimfeather (Tu-whoo! Tu-whoo!, Too true, too true!) and Trumpkin the dwarf ("Eh? What's that? He's useless? What???!!! Why are you whispering and muttering???!!!") The appraisal on the house came back at $360,000 but there was only one comp that was truly comparable. Heh. It's a good sign when the appraiser has a hard time finding comps low enough for your house. ;-) It would have been nice if I could have gotten the new home buyer's credit -- $6500.00 would have really helped on building the new bathroom, and Simon (the mortgage guy) said we could wait and re-lock at current rates, which are still the same, but I don't want to be greedy. I think it makes sense to just get this thing done. So that's what we're going to do. Well, back to work. Life is good. And I'm happy. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, November 5th, 2009
robkni	7:39a	Ran around 3.5 last night, the same this morning. Yesterday evening, Jody made dinner -- a tomatoey, cheeseburger macaroni casserole (veggie version for me) that was mighty tasty and liked by all. I was pretty productive at work yesterday, which is a good thing. Before running this morning, I got the girls some breakfast together and Jody was up with them watching Dorothy the Dinosaur when I got back from my run. That's about it. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009
robkni	10:51a	Last night Jody made pot roast and some truly cosmic oatmeal raisin cookies. I had veggie bratwurst with grilled onions, potatoes and bread. The ungrateful children complained about the pot roast being "too meaty" as they tucked away couple of pounds each. For the love of God, children. We read most of the second chapter of "The Silver Chair" until Jared fell asleep, then I went upstairs, lazed around, stopped by the old house to pick up mail, a rent check, say hi to Jonah (and Frodo) at their graves, came home, meditated and went to bed. This morning I woke up pretty early but half-dozed until I had frittered away a bunch of precious potentially productive time, made a bit of breakfast for the girls when James brought them home, got ready for work and left early because Jody stayed home from school today. Hit things pretty solidly at work and got a good bit accomplished in a relatively short period of time. I'm going to lunch with Rob at around 11:45 this morning and we're going to go over his cover letter -- he's applying for a senior SDET position at xxx team! How cool is that? Just censored myself because this is an open blog and I think the team might be secret, so no corporate leaks from me. Well, back to work. I'm starting to really get excited about going to Mexico in two weeks! And things are getting really close on the house closing too. Life is good and I miss my dog. Back to work. (Comment on this)
sykii	11:15a	note to self: ( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. ) (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
robkni	11:04a	I got to sleep in this morning since Jody got up with the girls. I took full advantage of my free time by laying in bed playing Solitaire on my phone thinking, "I should really be doing something either more productive or more fun." Finally I got up to take a shower, and since I was feeling silly, I decided to go terrorize Jody with sexual innuendo and bad humor, which is always fun. After receiving my requisite five, "Good Lord man! Don't you have anything to do???", I got ready and did marginally useful stuff. After a fun-filled, "mama"-themed episode of Incredible Melting Babies (tm), Jody and I headed off to work. Jody sadly proclaimed that she really, really, really wanted to have Starbucks cocoa in a red cup but, ("sigh") it was too late ("sigh") because we had to get to work ("sigh"), so... being the incredibly intuitive, sensitive guy that I am, I made a surprise stop by Starbucks to get said cocoa (peppermint flavored). Backing up a bit, we had a great Hallowe'en which I didn't write about, since I left my laptop at work this weekend, which was annoying. And now it's too far in the past to get into, but here's my favorite highlight:     (Comment on this)