First Day of School

Today was the first day of school. Alex started 9th grade, Abby 5th, and Madeline kindergarten. It's weird having them all in school, especially Madeline. School changes them. They grow up. They gain independence a little at a time. They lose innocence a little at a time. I don't want Madeline to grow up. I don't want her to change. She's our baby. I like her how she is.

They all loved their first day and want to go back.

Peace-
Matt

Around the house

Welcome Joseph Paul

Angie and I have a new nephew, Joseph Paul Driscoll. Congratulations to Kevin, Lisa, and Brett! Angie went to Indiana last night to visit them.

School starts Tuesday. Angie's going to have a hell of a time getting the three girls up early, fed, and off to school all before 8am. I guess we should have been easing them into some sort of routine. We haven't, so it will be tough, for Angie.

Have a good weekend.

Matt

Big Brother

My nephew Brett Driscoll is going to become a big brother tomorrow. His mother, my sister in law Lisa, is going to give birth to her second son tomorrow. I'm excited for Kevin, Lisa, and Brett. May God be with them and bless them with a healthy baby.

The Healthy Living class is now over. The last weigh in was Monday. I made it to my goal. I lost 16.5 lbs in 8 weeks. I'm glad it's over now. I hope I will continue to eat right and stay in an exercise routine.

I went to the Fair on Monday evening by myself. I like to go by myself so that I can spend some time looking at all the photos. It was a hot & humid night. I had a porkchop-on-a-stick. It was damn good, even with sweat dripping into my eyes.

Peace-
Matt

10 days

10 days until school starts. Yipee. I'm looking forward to fall, football, sweatshirts, etc. One of the best parts about living in Iowa is the changes in season. I'm ready for the next one.

Peace-
Matt

What do they know?

We went to the Iowa State Fair photo contest award ceremony tonight. I got second place in the "Iowa Architecture" class for my library photo above. I got an honorable mention in the Black & White "Places" class for the grain bin photo above. Not too bad I guess. I was hoping that one of my other entries would have made it in too. I thought it was the best photo I submitted. The judges and I have very different tastes though, so I'm not surprised. I don't have a scan of it, or I'd show it to you. In fact, please don't spend too much time looking at the photos I posted above. These are very poor scans of ass kicking traditional black and white prints. The prints are sweet, the scans suck. If you want to see the prints some time, ask me. I love showing off my prints. There is nothing in the photo world better than a traditional black & white contact print, nothing.

Anyway, I did win $75 for my 2nd place. That will pay for an hour or two at the fair this weekend.

Peace-
Matt

Rain

We woke up to rain this morning. Sure is hard to get out of bed when it's dark and rainy outside. The garden has been droopy the past few days so I'm glad we finally got some.

Fog

This time of year it seems we have lots of foggy mornings. The sun is coming up later each day too, which is timed just right for my drive to work. I love the dramatic light we've been having lately. I just wish I could take a different route each day. It seems I photograph the same stuff over and over.

I've always said that my dream job would be to drive around and look at stuff. Anybody got any leads?

Matt

Veggies

From the garden...

Harry Potter

I read/listened to the last Harry Potter book this week. It was awesome. After I read the Half Blood Prince, I was left wanting more and couldn't wait for the next book. I felt different after reading this book. JK Rowling did a marvelous job wrapping up the story.

Peace-
Matt

Award?

The kitchen floor is done. I finished it Saturday, after a very long 12 hours. It looks so much better than the stained smelly carpet. I just don't understand why anyone would want carpet in their kitchen.

Today was weigh in #5 of 8 in the 8 week healthy living program that I'm doing. I'm over half way towards my goal, I'm eating better, I've been exercising. It feels good to feel good.

I found out Saturday that two of my four submissions to the Iowa State Fair photo contest have been chosen for display. There was also a sticker on the form that says "AWARD". I think that means I won something and should go to the award ceremony on August 2nd. I'll let you know what comes of it. Pretty cool.

Alex has been reading the new Harry Potter (I like to call him Hairy Potter) book. When she was gone for a few hours on Sunday, I read about 100 pages of it. That's good shit. I couldn't put it down. My audio CD's of the book come tomorrow. I can't wait. JK Rowling is a fucking genius for sure.

I found out last week that I have to go to Las Vegas in September for a software conference for work. The conference ends on Saturday mid-day, but for some silly reason they think it's cheaper to pay for the hotel two more nights than to fly us home on Saturday. We're not leaving until Monday morning. I'm not really into the gambling or spending money I don't have. I'm thinking I'll try my hand at some night photography. Should be pretty neat with all the lights & motion going on out there.

Abby had fun at camp, so she says. They put her in the wrong cabin, with 11 & 12 yr olds. That's the third time this year she's been fucked like that. First basketball, then softball, now CYC. From now on, I'm going to request specifically that she be put with her age group and spell it out for them.

Have a great week!

Peace-
Matt

Sore Knees

I've been installing new wood flooring in my kitchen for the last two days. My knees and back and butt are sore. I'll be at it all day tomorrow too. Hopefully it will be done by tomorrow night.

These are a couple of photos I took on an errand I ran tonight. I really love summer evenings.

Peace-
Matt

Tablecloth

CYC

Abby is off to Catholic Youth Camp for the week. We dropped her off today. She usually goes with a friend, but did not this year. She seemed a bit nervous when we dropped her off, but kept telling us "I'm fine. See you later". She's been on my mind since we left. I pray she has the time of her life and meets lots of new friends who treat her nice.

We met our new priest, Fr. Bob Harris, today. He is very different than Fr. Mike, and will take some getting used to. He's older than I thought he'd be, only being ordained for 10 years. He's what they call a "2nd career" priest. I'm sure he'll be great. God knows what He's doing.

Have a great week

Peace-
Matt

Nuptials

We went to the wedding on Saturday. The flower girl from our wedding got married on Saturday. It was a very good time. I usually hate to go to weddings, but really enjoyed this one. It's touching to me to see a father walk his daughter down the isle and give her away. I am always sad for him. His little girl now "belongs" to another man. I don't want to give my daughters away. I want to keep them. Selfish, yes, but I don't think there's anyone good enough for them out there. I hope I am wrong.

I wish I could take the time to write here more often. There is just so much going on right now. Everyday, before I know it, it's time for bed.

Have a great week.

Peace-
Matt