again with being sick? really?!

i get sick every winter.  i wish i could stand up and tell everyone that i’m “one of those people that never gets sick . . .”

everyone says that.  i’ll tell them that i’m getting sick again and then they’ll let me have it.

“you should eat more greens” or “have you been getting enough sleep” or “don’t forget the BRAT diet!”

the list could go on.  maybe my immune system isn’t all that great, or maybe i really don’t get enough sleep or maybe it’s because i need to start sleeping with socks on.

i have no idea why i get sick.

but it’s super-annoying.  i get annoyed with people for the oddest things and i’m sure i’m even more annoying than normal.

either way. i’m sick of being sick all the time.

when you just can’t do it alone

the past few days heather and i have gotten a lot of help from one of our friends.

i’ve never been very good at building things out of wood and other products, or even very handy for that matter.

so when we decided to put in some new shower fixtures, i didn’t even know where to begin.

in this case i knew that i would need help even before i began.  but sometimes i’ll start a project, get a little ways into it and realize i’m up to my neck in a shit storm.

but i knew that i wouldn’t be able to do this one alone.

what i’m trying to get at, is that friends are supremely important.  not one of us is good at everything.  i know people that were born with many varied gifts and talents but lacking in other areas -

isn’t everyone built like that, though?

we need each other.  it’s good to remember.

talk with you soon.

nate.

making it count

i know the election is over, but i want to start this out by saying i’m very glad that i was able to vote this time around.

i remember voting for john kerry in 2004, but it didn’t have the same meaning that my vote this year, did.

i’m also happy that the elections are finally over.  we don’t even live in one of those monster swing states, which probably had more political commercials airing each evening than regular programing . . .

our country is in transition right now.

i think that’s a good thing.

our CITY is in transition right now, too.  I don’t know about your perspective, but from mine – the tide seems to be turning . . . maybe it’s just left-over hope from the election, but people seem angry.

a lot of times i see more apathy in gallup than anything else.  this thought that, ‘it’s not going to change anyway’ . . . i even wrote about it a bit in the last magazine.

but the last week or so, it’s been different.  people on the streets and in different restaurants are talking about what gallup really needs (note – it’s not an arena).

and more than anything else, i think gallup needs to get the downtown working again.  we need a place where every age comes on a weekly basis.

a place where good coffee and fellowship can be found and where you can eat at any number of restaurants or where you can hit one bar for a beer and another for a good glass of scotch or wine and pizza by the slice and a courtyard to eat it in.  we need to show tourist, but more importantly, we need to show our own selves that our downtown – the heart of gallup – still beats.

we need people to continue (or for the first time) to believe in gallup and to make decisions for positive change and growth.

we can do it, if we do it together.  if this past election taught me anything, showed me anything, it’s that a grassroots movement of positive change is tough to deny.

let’s begin this journey together.

talk with you soon.

happy change!

nate.

give it a rest . . .

i’ve decided that people who bring up how busy they are on a daily basis (in virtually every conversation i have with them) are not really that busy at all.

i mean, why waste the breath?

if you’re busy all the time, it should be quite evident to everyone involved . . .

the other night i got very frustrated with some people.  it forced me to take a look at what i believe and what i’m willing to stand for.

our magazine will always strive to bring the “positives” of gallup to the forefront, but i think we must also begin to walk a path we haven’t taken before.

i’m not sure it’s a good idea, though.

i always hear people say that they love gallup because of the people, here.

i do too.  but i also wish the people here that i love would get involved in the community (ie. city life, the arts, volunteer boards, downtown, etc.)

this is the most disjointed little write-up i’ve probably ever written, and it probably doesn’t make any sense which could be for the better.

anyway, i hope to talk with you again soon.

until then, believe.gallup

nate.

romantic

so, it’s my wife’s birthday today.

she’s an ‘older’ woman – but not really by much.

for whatever reason, her birthday has snuck up on me the past couple of years.  i’ve always pictured myself as a ‘romantic’ . . . you know, set up wonderful nights of . . . !ahem! . . . with my wife, but it doesn’t always end up that way – especially with a couple of kids.

maybe at one time i was a ‘romantic’ in the style of christopher walken or mark wahlberg – but no longer.  i’ve (just now) resigned myself to the fact that i’ve not been much of a romantic lately.

i think i’ll work on that and get back to you . . .

talk with you soon.

nate.

so very sorry

okay, i know this is going to sound lame – and it’s really not a good excuse, but it’s all i got:

i’ve been really, really busy.

seriously, just give me a moment to explain . . .

we had a baby boy early last month (yes, thank you – we are stoked, too.) and the next day  (heather was still in the hospital with joel (our new son) i started bringing loads over to the new house.

after a huge, and awesome, moving crew helped me move the last of the gear to the new place my dad came out for almost a week.

now, having my dad here at our house was great – i love seeing him and tana loves to play with him – but he wanted to get lots of work done.

mind you – i’m all for that, but we had just had a baby, moved and finished an issue of the magazine, what i wanted was rest.

needless to say, very little rest was had that week – but we got tons of stuff done.

soon after my dad left, my mother-in-law came, which, again, was fantastic – but it also added to the Little Rest Syndrome that was going around at the house – i mean, joel doesn’t sleep a great deal at night, you know?

soon after linda (my mother-in-law) left, both of my parents came out.

which, i’ll say again, was amazing.

the day they left for michigan, my father-in-law rolled in for three days.

it’s certainly been a whirlwind month.  i’m trying to get work done, but i’m also trying to spend time with heather, tana and joel – it’s been a really great month.

i wouldn’t trade it for anything.

talk to you soon.

nate.

shutting it down

i’ve been watching a lot of the olympics the past couple of weeks – but who hasn’t, right?

i love it.

if you didn’t watch the 4×100 meter freestyle relay, you missed history – it was amazing.  

the olympics are always bringing amazing out of people.

track and field recently began and i can’t even believe my eyes when usain bolt runs.

he looks like he’s jogging.

talk about crazy, this guy shuts it down in all the prelims with half a race to go and still claims victory effortlessly.  

i mean, these are the best athletes in their respective races and he jogs.

what?!

if you haven’t seen it – youtube his 100 meter final or watch tonight for his 200 meter race.

i’m, of course, hoping that one of the usa boys wins it, but i’m certainly not going to hold my breath.

anyway, i love the olympics.

talk to you soon.

nate.

selling the house

well, the day has finally arrived . . . we’ve sold our house.

we’ve always thought that it would happen at the right time, and it seems that it has.

we’ll move into our new house in mid september and won’t have to move everything out of our current house until november.  with a new baby in the house, it will be nice to have a little extra time, you know?

i can’t wait to move into the new place, though.  having a new place for tana to play and grow up (as well as the new baby), is a really cool thought.  tana may not even remember this house that we’re in now – which is too bad.  we have so many great memories from this place.  we helped to start a business when we lived here, we had tana while we lived here, we’ve had over a hundred thousand magazines delivered here . . . it’s awesome, but kind of sad.

anyway, it’s not that sad – we’re pumped for the new place.  

talk with you soon.

nate.

3 cm and counting

we had another doctor’s appt. for heather (and the new baby in her belly) yesterday.  

this pregnancy has gone very fast already and yesterday’s appt. made me feel like i’ve missed the whole thing.

with about a month to go, she’s already 3 cm dilated . . . and i know that she could be 3 or 4 for weeks before the baby is born, but she’s still 3 cm.

it’s so crazy.  i mean, we’re going to have this baby.

it’s very exciting.  talk to you soon.

nate.

weather fronts

i’m not sure what makes me whine about the weather, but i do it.  

when it’s cold in the winter and we have to make a fire and deal with ice and rain and snow and slush, it gets old for me.  at that point, i just want to see some green stuff growing – anything and feel the heat of the sun.

now it’s hot and we have weeds and i  just wish we could get a cold front with some rain over here.

nothing’s ever right, you know?  i’ve always got something on my mind that i wish would change.

that said, it’s not a huge deal and when those thoughts pop into my head, it’s not a huge deal to dismiss them – but i do think about them . . . 

it’s much easier to be optimistic in these situations – we can’t change the weather anyway, so . . . exactly, why worry about it.

anyway, i’m going to hop in a cold shower before church – it’s already like 90 degrees outside.

talk to you soon.

nate.