Life in 2010

In sad news, Max the cat has passed on.
Finn is about to turn two years old, and is ridiculously cute. Will just turned 5 and is going to start kindergarten soon.
Tom is doing very well as a quality engineer, while I work on several projects of my own.
Life is generally good.

Finn, Max, and Canada

Our second son, Finian Xavier, was born on 7/26/08. He is, like his brother, astonishingly wonderful.

We consider our family complete.

We are currently looking for a new home for our cat Max, who is suffering being so low on the totem pole.

Our plans for Canada have been delayed due to changes in their immigration policies. Hopefully, we will still get there in the next five years.

Canada and Will

Our son, Will, was born 7/7/05. He's heading to a year and a half now, and is the most wonderful child ever born. No, really! ;)

We are getting ready to immigrate to Canada.

Update on the House and Jen's Job

When last I wrote, I said that I was catching up on improvements around the house since I lost my last job.

Good news!

The house is, to all intents and purposes, thoroughly caught up. Tom and I even kept our 2003 New Year's Resolution to get the basement cleaned up and organized before the end of the year! There are always more improvements to make, of course, but all the major stuff has been done. =)

Now, while Tom and I continue to pursue having children of our own, I am working as a substitute special education aide for the local school district.
I've really come into my own. I love working with kids, more than I ever realized. I like the flexibility of my job, as well. I choose whether to work when they call, with no negative ramifications if I don't. Since I've always done best when I'm working for myself, this has been wonderful for me. But mostly I LOVE working with the kids!

Now I just have to keep myself from boring people to death talking about my job! ;)

All about Tom

I'm basically what you would call a "nice guy" someone dependable, friendly, and generally happy. I certainly have not finished last either. I am an interesting mix of historical and contemporary. I've had many influences in my life, my Grandfather being one (and probably the most important one) and my wife being the other (who has been the strongest & greatest influence) one.

If someone was to describe my personality; they'd probably say "He's easy going, devoted, loving, professional, seems to generally care about others, has a thirst for learning, tries to hard to be funny, goal-oriented and nearly always wears a smile." I'm not trying to leave out the bad stuff, though I think generally most people seem to get along with me.

What do I enjoy? Well, I like to spend most of my free time with my wife Jenny. She's just one of those people you never get tired of spending time with. We enjoy chatting about any subject from applesauce to zebras (which we both enjoy viewing at the zoo). She's a fantastic woman, with a mind that staggers me sometimes with its ingenuity of thought, and ability to read between the lines of anything. I think we both really enjoy our time together even on the occasions where we're not having such a good day. We always make up and I try (though sometimes not as much as I should) to be the best partner I can be. She's the best thing to happen to me yet, I love you!

I also enjoy my cats & my home. As we have purchased our first (and likely only) home, we enjoy working on it and spending time enjoying it. Our cats bring us joy through everything they do, and they enrich our lives by simply being around us. I firmly believe there is nothing like the feeling of a purring cat on your lap. Other things I enjoy are (not necessarily in this order): Bicycling, following Major league Baseball (GO CUBS!!), reading about the latest and greatest automobiles, dressing handsomely, wood-working, working out, watching movies at home (with our nifty home theater sound!), listening to music (classic rock, hard rock, 80's, country, blues, folk, & showtunes), and playing my acoustic guitar.

My professional life has recently gotten WAY more interesting as I have changed jobs and really like my new one. I work in quality assurance at a major bearing manufacturer. Specifically I do warranty parts review, and I totally love it. I'm looking forward to completing my educational goal of earning my A.A.S. and getting my ASQ certification. I am one of the few lucky people out there who works in the industry he always wanted to have some part of, the automotive industry. It can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but it keeps things interesting. The mixture of technology, racing, design, and function has always been alluring to me.

Politically I don't actually have very strong opinions. (I know, I know I really should) but for the big ones I'm democratic, pro-choice (first trimester only thankyouverymuch), against animal cruelty, pro-advancement beyond the internal combustion engine, pro-technology (go internet!), anti-gun (not that you can't have one just keep them locked up please!), and anti-racism (people are people man!).

What do I hope for? Well, peace everywhere would be nice. It's a relatively small planet you know (and with technology getting smaller every day) we all just need to get along. The further exploration of space and the oceans of the earth, a chance at being a good father to my future child/children, the Cubs to go all the way, the promise of a better tomorrow, and the wish for more happy days than sad for my family and the world over.

So that's me. :)

All About Jen

Basically, I'm a homebody. I do like to go out every once in a while...usually to eat out or shop or walk. I love museums and zoos. Mostly, I like to talk (have good, long conversations), to philosophize, and to give advice (whether that's a virtue or a flaw depends on who you ask. ;) I also love role playing games, specifically D&D, however, I have only once or twice been able to get together a group to play it. I'm also very into music. We have a huge CD collection with a very wide variety of musical styles represented. I generally listen to rock, easy listening, oldies, and blues. I am a lifelong bookworm. I read mostly mysteries and fantasy (especially comic fantasy.) I also write poetry, although less often than I once did. I'd write a story if I wasn't such a procrastinator. =) I spend quite a lot of time on the internet. I recommend the usenet group alt.callahans, a place full of good and interesting and thoughtful people, based on the Callahan's series of books by Spider Robinson.

I am what I call a realistic optimist. In other words, I generally look on the bright side, but I never forget to live in the real world, to be practical and as honest as I can be, which sometimes means I'm not the most tactful person ever. ;)
A great number of adjectives have been assigned to me by various people in my life. Here's a list off the top of my head: honest (sometimes too honest), bossy, nurturing, loyal, patient, impatient, stubborn, open-minded, smart, demanding, witty, talkative (and, again, sometimes too much), wise, opinionated, wonderful, picky, knowing, sensitive, friendly, passionate, and loving.

I live by a simple yet potent philosophy: Do the least harm, do the most good. I'm a vegetarian, a pacifist, pro-choice, anti-death penalty, pro-science, anti-censorship, pro-equality, pro-freedom, anti-hate and so forth and so on. I hope to inspire by example. I decided a long time ago that, at least in this lifetime, I was going to resist the urge to try to save the world and enjoy my life instead. (It's quite possibly the only one I've got, after all, and I have dreams that aren't so compatible with setting out to save the world, like living with Tom and having and raising kids and pets, and being, you know, relatively comfortable.) I sometimes feel guilty about that, but I believe that every life contributes something valuable, and who knows who my kid(s) will grow up to be? (Not that I'll be upset if they choose the same path I did!)

I'm wildly and passionately and happily in love with Tom, who I married in 1996, in a lovely ceremony on a surprisingly nice day. We are best friends and spend the vast majority of our free time together. We're working on having those kids right now. We'd like two. =) We already have four cats and a turtle that we love very much, who will get their own entry. It's our goal for me to be a stay-at-home mom, although a little working from home would be great, if I can ever find it! Since I lost my last job, I've been catching up on improvements around the house, with the goal of being the most prepared mom-to-be I can manage. ;) Every little bit helps!

Oh, and about the title of this blog/webpage...it's a line from The Gambler, performed by Kenny Rogers, which Tom and I consider "our song." ;) Because, of course, we do know when to hold 'em.

Welcome!

This is the homepage of Jen and Tom. We are using a blogger because that means this homepage can always be current!
Tom and I will both post descriptions of who we are, what we're doing, and so on. (The stuff of homepages! Even though most of you probably know us already, some of you might not!)
Then we will, from time to time, post with updates/changes, links we want to share, or information about events in our lives. Welcome to our weblog!