Big Red V. 2.0

I shaved my beard a few days ago. I'd been growing it for four months (since September 20th). I loved it. Sarah hated it. I love my wife. Ergo, it was time to be clean shaven for a little while.

I miss it, though. However ridiculous it may sound, I spent four months working on that thing. And by working, of course, I mean not shaving. I spent a good chunk of time growing it out and feeling comfortable with it dangling softly from beneath jaw. I named it. I hid pens and pencils in it. We became friends. And now it's gone.

Fortunately, hair grows back. I'm confident that next year's beard will be even bigger and better than this year's.

Anyway. Here it was in all of its glory:





And this is how long the goatee was after I shaved down the sides:



I'm now sporting a shorter goatee with neatly trimmed sideburns and no moustache. I'm "normal" looking again. So it goes.



Beards for everyone, that's my motto.

Stay Gold!

MMK

My Engelhardt Family

I've written sporadically on here about the RAs I supervise and work with on a daily basis. The four of us have formed a solid team over the course of the year and have a great time working together. It will honestly be hard to see them go when the end of the year comes around, but that's a ways off yet. So I'm not gonna dwell on it.

Anyway. We went sledding as a staff this past weekend and took advantage of our time in the great New Hampshire outdoors to take some staff photos. My supervisor was kind enough to lend her fancy camera and skills as a photographer for the afternoon. We ended up with some pretty fantastic shots, I think. So... Here you go. Some of you may have already seen these of Facebook. But some of you haven't. Either way -- Enjoy.

We started out serious. And Lumberjacky.





Then we looked confidently toward the future.



Then I went sleeveless. Model pose style.





Then Josh ramped over me on his sled.



These kids are seriously the best ever. I work with the raddest people.

Stay Gold!

MMK

Julia

MK and I recently watched Julie & Julia. Dad, if you and Mom haven't seen this movie yet, you should pick it up from Family Video. I think you'd both really enjoy it. I had heard good comments about the movie but wasn't really sure if I'd get into it. Well, I did...and I think the movie gave me a little inspiration.

MK and I have really been trying to get our butts in gear about eating right and staying active. Sounds so easy, but as most of you know, changing unhealthy habits sucks. We have more than enough knowledge (MK's the bodybuilder/trainer and I play the nutritionist), but we are lacking effort, accountability, and proper rewards (why not reward a pound lost or a trip to the gym with Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream?!).

But I've pulled out a few recipes from all my old Parents magazines and am dedicated to at least trying to set aside some time to cook. As most of you know, I enjoy baking. Not cooking. But here's my attempt to be a better wife and mother. All the delicious recipes are going into a small note book I received for Christmas (thanks, Dad Kole). I made my first recipe on Wednesday...and it was a success! This was also my first crack ever at a quiche! YUM!

Cheese & Spinach Pie Tart

Norah is slowly developing her crawling skills. No, she's not crawling yet, but she's so close! MK and I have been cheering her on and coaxing her with toys. At the moment, her movement is similar to an army crawl. However, once she's able to push her weight off with her knees...she'll be gone...and I'll be one tired mama.


Just look at that smile...so cute. But I think that face also says, "Mom, watch out. I'm gonna be a little stinker."

Thanks to a Target gift card from Momma T(thank you!), we bought Norah a new car seat. She was outgrowing her old one by both the height and weight guidelines. Here's Norah enjoying the big car seat box:


I'm enjoying the last night of peace. All the residents move back in tomorrow. And tomorrow will officially begin my countdown to the end of the semester. Hehe. This next week is going to be a bit hectic with Marshall and I trying to figure out a new routine that works for all three of us. Marshall will have different hours this semester, and I have accepted a new work schedule at PF. Once my old shift is covered, I will be working M - F from 2:00 - 10:00 (closing shift). This means we will probably have to rely a bit more on sitters, and I will frequently get a little less sleep...but I think it'll be worth it. I'll have my Sunday's back, allowing the three of us to go to church and just spend quality time together. I'm excited!

And last but not least, my Christmas present had the final touches added today:


I love and miss you all.

Sitting on the Couch

Norah was sitting with me on the couch last night when I was writing some work emails. She kept peeking up over my shoulder to see my face and I would give her a little startle each time she looked for me. It was the highlight of her day, I think. Good times.

Probably not too exciting for all of y'all, but I thought I'd share anyway.

Also, my triceps are huge in this video. Just sayin'...



Anyway.

Stay Gold!

MMK

This Week's Tattoo Post

Having gotten the outline done in October, I finally got my gypsy head colored in last week. It's mostly healed now and looking fierce. Big ups to Jason Loui at Iron Works Tattoo in Portsmouth for the work. If you're looking to get some work done in the area of the Seacoast, he's tops.



Elsewhere in the world, this guy decided to tattoo a pair of sunglasses onto his face. Stupid, probably, but I guess when you've already got your throat tattooed, you might as well tattoo your face, too.



Sarah is getting her arm colored in this weekend. I'm sure she'll share pictures after the fact.

That's all!

Stay Gold,

MMK

Don't Care

I don't care enough about politics to write about it. I think the hubby does enough commenting for the both us whether my opinions are the same or differ. We started this blog to keep in touch with family...so that's what I'll continue to do.

Life is busy but is slowly starting to fall into a routine again. My gym opened up on the 1st. I can't even begin to describe the chaos that I find myself in everyday when I show up for work. I worked over 40 hours that week. I completed membership after membership. I was afraid I'd see the paperwork in my sleep. So now that we are open, the gym is PACKED. I'm pretty sure we have well over 4,000 members. I love my co-workers but so far I've had much to complain about our members. In general, they just seem to be downright arrogant and rude. But I'm hoping once things start to calm down a bit, and the New Year's Resolution members start to fade, I'll be able to connect with the nice and enjoyable members. Anyways, all is good on the job front.

Norah turned 8 months! Can you believe it?! MK and I sure can't believe 8 months have passed already. Oi. Norah is fantastic. She sits up on her own completely, she's putting weight and rocking on all fours (sometimes falling forward), she pushes up on her hands and I'm fairly confident she'll be crawling before we know it. For the moment, she does a lot of rolling to get closer to things she wants. We can stand her up next to our coffee table and she'll hang out for a moment before she loses balance without assistance. And in general, she is a happy, content, and loving baby. Still no teeth. She wants to get into everything and put anything AND everything into her mouth. Typical 8 month old, right? Some pictures to share:


Eewww. Stinky feet.


One of the best pictures we could get...


...since most of them turned out like this!


Poppy took this one...I'm pretty sure this was taken right before she fell?


Crawl, baby, crawl. I know i'll be a busy mama once she is truly mobile, but I'm excited for her to be able to go where she wants to go! GO NORAH!

Miss you and love you all.

The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage

This is a wicked interesting article. Well-reasoned, too.

"The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly held that marriage is one of the most fundamental rights that we have as Americans under our Constitution. It is an expression of our desire to create a social partnership, to live and share life's joys and burdens with the person we love, and to form a lasting bond and a social identity. The Supreme Court has said that marriage is a part of the Constitution's protections of liberty, privacy, freedom of association, and spiritual identification. In short, the right to marry helps us to define ourselves and our place in a community. Without it, there can be no true equality under the law."

Check it out, dudes. Big ups to my bro/cuddly man bear Hutch for sharing it with me today.


Stay Gold,

MMK

Officially the best married couple, ever.

A Comparison

Just something worth thinking about... A comparison you wouldn't always come up with, but that might make you reconsider the issue.


Re-posted from our friend Ace.

Stay Gold,

MMK

Norah is Getting Tattooed!

Because we've decided to send her to live with these people.

Seriousy... WTF?!

I can MAYBE see allowing your 17 year old kid to get tattooed. Most states allow minors (over the age of 16) to get tattooed with their parents consent. Which is fine if the kid is into it and the parents are willing to let their kid get tattooed. But what the hell kind of people tattoo their own kids with a homemade tattoo gun?! And on the hands, none the less! And when the kids are prepubescent?! Oh man... It's people like this that give tattoos a bad name. Add to their irresponsibility as parents the fact that this woman has some horrendous tattoos herself (both artistically and technically), and I think these people can officially be called clueless and burdensome for the rest of humanity to stomach.

I hope Norah wants to get tattooed when she's older. If not, that's fine, too. But it certainly won't be happening before she's of legal age (preferably 20 years old, if I had my way), nor will it be done with a homemade tattooing gun.

In conclusion, tattoos are awesome. But these people are not. The end.

Stay Gold!

MMK

Thoughts on the Broncos

Hey, Denver Broncos... I just want you to know that I'm really impressed with your team this year. The things you accomplished during the last 17 weeks will stay with me for at least a part of a lifetime (but probably not the good part of one).

Great work at the beginning of the season, guys. Starting out 6-0 was really something to be admired. Going 2-8 in your next ten games, though, was less admirable. At least I can rest assured in the comfort that I know what I'll get with you on a yearly basis. Despite whatever sort of winning or losing record you might have at the beginning of the season, I know for sure that you'll end up with a very average record at the end of the season and will either narrowly miss the playoffs or face a quick elimination in the first round.

The way you defeated some of the most formidable teams in the league this year was rather outstanding. Your victories over Cincinnati, New England, and San Diego early on in the season made me believe that you had what it might take to be a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Losing to teams like Oakland, Washington, and Kansas City later in the season quickly erased any illusions I might have had about your potential, though. Thanks for that. I really appreciate the fact that you were honest with us about your intentions to be overwhelmingly average before you accidentally made the playoffs or over-exerted yourselves.

I'm already looking forward to the shenanigans you're no doubt preparing to pull during the off-season. I know you knocked out some doosies last year with firing your head coach and switching your defensive schemes. Your attempt to draft and install a solid running back in place of the committee of backs you'd long employed was entertaining. I can't even imagine what you might do during this summer. Whatever it is, please don't put too many bullets into your own feet. I have a feeling that you might do something foolish like let your number one receiver fall to free agency. I'd encourage you not to do that. Unless, of course, you're goal as a team is to remain as boring and mediocre as possible. Wait a minute...

Anyway. Thanks again for another lack-luster year. You've left me no choice but to cheer for the Packers and the NFC in the playoffs this year.

I look forward to the opportunity to say all of this stuff again a year from now. Don't let me down!


MMK