Blog “Fall” Catch Up

Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m so horrible at this Blog. Facebook takes up most of my free time; I’ve considered giving it up altogether. But I think it will be interesting to look back on sometime, so I will continue the best I can. In that somewhat indifferent spirit, here’s my fall catch-up entry. BTW, wasn’t fall just awesome? The weather was beautiful! And I seemed to have lots of stuff going on.

September

Mom’s Birthday

We celebrated mom’s birthday at Red Lobster in Shawnee. Grant, clearly not in a celebratory mood, slept through most of it.

Flickr Set>> (Not uploaded yet)

October

Texas

I had some stuff going on in October! Early in the month I went to Allen/Grapevine/Dallas in a combo shopping/work trip. I did some shopping for the New York trip at the outlet mall in Allen, stayed at Ted and Evelyn’s condo in Grapevine, then went to Dallas the next day. At Dallas, I went to the Dallas Zoo for the SmartStrand Zoo Challenge (I’m sure you don’t care, it’s a promotional tie-in thing Mohawk was doing with SmartStrand carpet and rhinos, elephants and camels). I also went to Dealey Plaza and Museum, which was the first time I had been there. It was very interesting, especially since nothing has changed much since that historic event happened.

Flickr Set>> http://www.flickr.com/photos/brad_holt/sets/72157625136318100/

Earthquake!

Dude, I just felt my first earthquake. It was awesome.

New York City

The next weekend, I left for New York City! This is one of those trips I had wanted to do for a while. Somehow Nora, my friend who lives in Germany, and I were able to make this work and met there. I was so overwhelmed right at first. The amount of people, traffic and noise was astounding. I (mostly) adjusted though and ended up having a good time, although I think once will be enough. Some of my favorite things were Battery Park, which is near the World Trade Center site. It is right on the water. The views were amazing, the photo opportunities were endless and it was relatively uncrowded and quiet. I also loved the day we went to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I enjoyed the two observatories we did, Top of the Rock (GE Building) at night and Empire State Building during the day. The night we went to watch a Broadway play was fun too. We didn’t get to see much of Central Park. I would have liked to have spent more time there, if only time would allow for everything. As we were exiting though, we joined an (apparently) impromptu sing-along of Beatles songs at Strawberry Fields, across the road from where John Lennon lived and was killed. It was a lovely way to end the evening. In addition, while we were there, we got to meet up with not one, but two, high school classmates and current area residents, which is nothing short of impressive considering our school size. Like I said, I’m not sure I will ever go back, but I’m glad I got to see it. How people live there is beyond me, but it seems that it’s quite popular. ;-)

Flickr Set>> http://www.flickr.com/photos/brad_holt/sets/72157625095823865/

(Small) HS Reunion

After a stop in FL, Nora came to visit Oklahoma before returning to Germany and we got to get together with some other classmates over dinner at Polo’s in Ada. It was very nice to see everyone!

Flickr Set>> (Not uploaded yet)

Halloween

I went to Steve & Sally’s for Halloween. We had some good food and gave out lots of candy. Just how Halloween should be.

November

Thunder Game

I went to my first thunder game with Steve in early November. I actually enjoyed it so much more than I thought I would. I want to go back!

Thanksgiving

Mom hosted a great Thanksgiving meal. In attendance were Grandma and Bill, Papa Bruce, Steve, Sally, Grant, mom and myself.

Flickr Set>> http://www.flickr.com/photos/brad_holt/sets/72157625468497092/

Christmas Lights

At the end of November, Christmas lights were glowing once again.

Pic>> http://www.facebook.com/bradaholt?ref=profile#!/photo.php?fbid=1580012672649&set=a.1538177386793.75023.1605636710

Merry Christmas 2010

Pretty Poinsettia Print Christmas 5x7 folded card

Visit Shutterfly.com for classic photo Christmas cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

4th of July Patio Party (Observed)

(This is the last of my blog "catch-up" posts, so there are new posts all the way down to the one about Grant.")

JulyCookout_16July2010 012
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

I had planned my first official patio get-together for July 3rd. We were going to have a cookout and then watch the fireworks later that night. I worked so hard getting everything ready outside and getting my house clean inside. But then it rained it out. So, we tried again the next Friday. I worked so hard getting everything ready outside and getting my house clean inside. But then it rained it out. So, we tried again the next Friday. I had really lost all motivation to make sure everything was perfect, but still made a half-hearted attempt. We had the party a few hours after work, which I found to be a big mistake because there just wasn’t enough time But we pulled it off, more or less and celebrated the 4th a few weeks late.

There are photos, although they are arguably all pretty bad due to light conditions. If you want to look at them anyway… http://www.flickr.com/photos/brad_holt/sets/72157624396727557/

30. Yea.

In celebration (or mourning) of my last day as a twenty-something, the family took me out to Norman. We ate some pretty good Mexican food at Ted’s and watched “Day and Knight.” Then the next day I turned 30. There are no pictures. That’s probably for the best.

Father's Day Weekend

This father’s day Steve and Sally invited us over for lunch. It was Steve's first father's day. We had a nice meal and visited with family. Then Steve and I snuck out to the pasture to try out some new explosives he had been wanting to experiment with. It was actually quite a bit of fun, blowing some up.

For pictures, check out: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=51387&id=1605636710&l=f96f8134ac

And there’s a video of us blowing stuff up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVfuoFLLh34

Patio is almost there!

Patio_13June2010
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

My patio is finally done (well, mostly)! This has been quite a little process. It started in early-May when I tore off my sorry excuse for a deck. I built it almost five years ago out of left-over fence panels. It was intended to be temporary until I built my real deck, but as these things often are, temporary turned into semi-permanent. I had thought I was going to build a new deck, but decided to go with a patio with concrete slab instead. Funny thing: When I tore out the tile in my kitchen and dining room, I took up some panels in the deck and discarded all that tile under the deck. I presumed it wouldn’t matter because when I built the new deck I could just go over it. But with the slab, I had to move all that tile. It was in hundreds and hundreds of pieces. It was much fun.

Then it rained for a while, so it pushed back my concrete. And then it rained some more. And some more. Finally it had been dry for a couple of weeks but I still hadn’t heard from my concrete guy. So I called him, only to find out he had “forgot about me.” But a few days later he was out there and I got concrete laid. Thank goodness. By the end of May I had the slab poured and cured and got my furniture assembled and on the patio. All that’s missing was everything else. I was lucky to have a “do-it-all” guy around who had just finished repainting my house, and he agreed to help me with the patio as well. By mid-June we were pretty much finished. I added a little “side-deck” on the side of the patio and raised up my fence a little for privacy. I still have two things yet to complete: laying tile and a little bit of landscaping around the patio. I can’t wait until it’s completely done! But it’s been nice so far. I love hanging out there, lounging in the chaise, surfing the web or eating dinner.

If you want to check out the patio, head over to Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brad_holt/sets/72157624553525094/

Welcome Mr. Grant (Starting to catch up on my blog!)

Baby Grant Experience. Bruce Grant Holt born Wed 5-26, 2:07 am, 7 lbs 14 oz, 21" long, Purcell, Okla. Brad and baby Grant (I'm thinking about stealing him a little bit here.)
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

Bad Blogger! Bad, bad blogger! So, I have been MIA for a while but I am going to attempt to catch up a little this evening. Let’s flash back to almost two months ago… when Bruce Grant Holt joined us. Here’s a little play-by-play.

Tues. May 25
AM: Sally is at Purcell MH and labor is induced.
6:00 PM: Mom and I decided to head over to Purcell as things were progressing along. We hoped there would be time to eat before the big event. Ha, ha. Ha ha ha. Ha.
8:00 PM: Got through eating, everything still going well, ETA 9-10 PM.
10:00 PM: Pushing has commenced (my apologizes to Sally if she doesn’t care for these details on my blog. LOL) I start taking a deep interest at these green dots on the floor and follow them around the hospital.
11:30 PM: Still no baby. They decide to do a c-section, but there is another mother in the same situation and she is in more distress, so she gets to go first. But everything is still okay with mom and baby. They tell us how odd this is that there is even another mom giving birth in the small hospital at the same time, even more so that they need to do two c-sections at the same time. Goody.

Wed. May 26
12:30 AM: Still not in surgery. Facebook followers give up and go to bed, except Nora who is in Germany where it is morning.
1:00 AM: I awake from my attempted nap in my truck. It was somewhat successful. I eventually found a position that involved my feet hanging out the window. Shortly after the other mom’s baby is delivered. We momentarily consider just stealing that one.
1:30-ish AM: Sally is taken into surgery. We are told it shouldn’t take long, so clearly it will be like 5 AM.
2:10 AM: Baby Grant is finally born! 7 lbs. 14 oz.
2:30 AM: We get to see him for the first time. He has like 30 pictures taken of him in 30 seconds. Steve comes out shortly after and is really proud and tired.
3:00 AM: We get to go back and see Grant and Sally. We get to hold Grant and take a few pictures with the new little guy.
3:30 AM: Left the hospital and headed to Asher.
4:30 AM: Back home at Asher and instantly to sleep.

This was my first “birth” experience and it was truly amazing! For pictures of Grant on his first day and since then, check out this set on Flickr! http://www.flickr.com/photos/brad_holt/sets/72157624141183926/

Oh, Wal-Mart… how you annoy thee.

Went to Walmart today to get some things for work. Usually, the day is slightly less annoying than the evening. Today, not so much. So... here we go... Top 10 Things That Annoyed me at Walmart Today:

1. Orphaned shopping carts in the parking lot

2. Shopping carts returned to the corral in a haphazard manner rather than in two, nicely organized lines

3. People parking in places that aren’t parking spaces

4. People trying so very hard to find the closest possible parking spot on the warmest day of the year

5. Almost as many people using electric carts as those not (maybe they all need them, I don’t know, but I doubt it)

6. One person blocking one side of the isle, another one blocking the other while eating an apple pie. I stand there for two minutes and give her a dirty look. She states she needs something where the other person is. And, apparently, doesn’t know how to walk backwards.

7. “Walmart People” (Oh, you know.)

8. Walmart employee answering a question using the fewest possible words and without making eye contact or moving in any way (although the second person I asked happily walked me to the item—my hat off to you)

9. Not enough checkers. Too many self-serve lanes.

10. “Please place your item inside the bagging area. Please place your item inside the bagging area. Please wait for assistance.” The item is in the stupid* bagging area, you stupid* machine! You want me to throw it in again? How ‘bout I purchase a hammer and place it in the bagging area after I finish beating your stupid* speaker into oblivion? Not so demanding now, are you?

*Not the words I wanted to use.

Winter Blog Catch-up!

FebSnow_11Feb2010 048
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

Woah. Major blog black-out, huh? Facebook has kept me so busy I forgot about my little blog here. Today, I catch up! Here's what I've been up to this winter, "check it out over at Flickr" style.

11 Feb 2010: I captured the 50th snow of the winter at, appropriately enough, Wintersmith Park. It was probably the prettiest snow I have ever seen. Flickr Set >>>

06 Feb 2010: Ice Storm Aftermath - Asher. The ice tore up the trees and power lines pretty good. I photographed a little of it and help with the cleanup. CHAINSAW! (Multiplicity fans, anyone?) Flickr Set >>>

30 Jan 2010: Winter Storm 2010! The first storm of the new year came early and came big. A few photos, but I didn't venture out much. Flickr Set >>>

31 Dec 2009: Happy New Years! I go to some of the calmest New Years parties on the planet, but we had fun. And, the little dog, too. Flickr Set >>>

25 Dec 2009: Christmas / Is this blizzard going to kill us? Major blizzard time fun (and the closure of I-35) kept some of our guests away, but we made the best of it and had a pretty good Christmas. Flickr Set (Christmas) >>> Flickr Set (the snow) >>>

29 Nov 2009: Steve's 27th Birthday at Ted's in Norman. Flickr Set >>>

That's it! I'm all caught up.