I Am Still Awesome

I received an award that I am going to share. I am not big on these awards anymore. I guess I have lost some of that super excited blogging energy in the past year and a half. I do like to report the rewards for two reasons though.

I like to share them just in case any of you readers are starting to doubt my awesomeness.

More importantly I like to thank the award giver. In this case it is John over at Fatherhoody.  We struck up a friendship pretty quick once I found out he liked Seinfeld and the Cardinals.  A guy like that must be a winner.  John is also a very new dad. Stop by and read his blog and offer some encouragement to a guy who probably can't remember the last time he got a good nights sleep.

I don't send awards to others because they usually don't accept. If you are an awards junkie just take the thing with you.  Leave me a comment to let me know you took it though. Otherwise it would be like stealing and we here at Life of a New Dad cannot condone thievery.

You can look at the pretty flower below. I must say that the word sunshine has never been used in any way to describe me so this is ground breaking stuff.

Keepsake Award and Story

I got this award last week from Tom @ Being Michael's Daddy.

He writes about his fatherhood journey with a hilarious son. The stories are always entertaining. Tom also shares the joy of engineering with me. I feel something like a bond of secret brotherhood between us because of that. Stop by and meet Tom for yourself by clicking here. You'll be glad you did.

The rules of this award state that I have to share a sweet or funny keepsake that tells something about myself. Honestly just typing the term sweet keepsake has made me a little nauseous. This is not typically my type of thing, but I will not reject a reward due to my squeamishness. I also have to bestow this award on ten others. Tom has already given the award to several blogs that I read so I have left them out. I read tons of great blogs, many of which are linked on the right. Everyone I read deserves an award, but the blogs I have chosen for this particular award are below. After visiting them check out my story.

4 Nuts in a Nutshell
Mommy Kingdom
Daddy Diaries
Frogs in My Formula
The Adventures of Super Mega Dad
Unraveling Life's Mysteries
She's Just Another Manic Mommy
Heir Apparent
Buried with Children
Burgh Baby

The story of how I met Arica starts in a dark dingy bar downtown. One night after several drinks I ran into her brother in said bar. We were acquaintances, but not much more. Somehow our pickled minds found their way to the topic of softball. Aaron said he was putting together a softball team. It would be a grand time. Was I interested? Of course I was. I love baseball and to some degree its ugly cousin softball. We agreed that I would join his mighty team.

A couple days later he called to see if I was still interested in playing. I had no recollection of the conversation from the bar. Our phone call went something like this.

He said, "This is Aaron. Do you still want to play softball."

Me:"........"

Aaron: "Bobby's my old lady."

Me: "I know who you are. What was that you said about playing softball?"

Aaron: "You said you wanted to play softball with us this summer."

Me: "I don't remember that, but I do want to play softball."

It turns out no matter how much I drink I still know how to answer questions pertaining to athletic participation. Our league started and we were awful. It was a fun group of guys, but we absolutely stunk. One afternoon out of the blue Aaron called me up. He asked if I had a girlfriend. I didn't so he wanted to set me up with someone. I said OK. I will try anything once. Then he said the someone he wanted me to meet was his sister. That was certainly unexpected, but I was ready to meet her anyway.

We were scheduled to meet at one of our games. Before the game I was looking all around. I only saw one girl at our game. She was very pretty, but looked nothing like Aaron. I thought there is no way that is his sister. She doesn't look anything like him, and she is way too pretty to be setup with me. I gave up before the game even started.

Having decided she was not around I headed out quickly after the game. I was halfway across the parking lot when I hear Aaron panting and hollering my name. He ran up and asked if I wanted to meet his sister. That was the plan so we met.

Of course the beautiful blond at the game was Aaron's sister, Arica. At this point I put on one of the best shows of dorkiness ever witnessed. I can be a bit shy when meeting someone, especially someone of the opposite sex. Add to that the fact that her mother and brother were there for our first meeting. It had to be one of the worst first impressions ever made.

The next week we went on a date. A little over a year later we were married. George Costanza once said that all really great couples have a great meeting story. He reasoned that is why he never had a lasting relationship. Conversely that must be why things are working out so well for us. We have a meeting story that we will never forget.

I Was Awarded with...an Award

I received my first blog award last week thanks to WeaselMomma. Without further ado here, proudly displayed, is the award followed by its description.

“The blogger who receives this award believes in the Tao of the zombie chicken - excellence, grace and persistence in all situations, even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. These amazing bloggers regularly produce content so remarkable that their readers would brave a raving pack of zombie chickens just to be able to read their inspiring words. As a recipient of this world-renowned award, you now have the task of passing it on to at least 5 other worthy bloggers. Do not risk the wrath of the zombie chickens by choosing unwisely or not choosing at all.”

I have had many things said about me in my life both good and bad. Some of the favorites seem to be "You are a jerk", "You talk funny", "Get off my property", and "Hey! Give me back my lawn gnome!" Needless to say having someone think that my absence is somehow worse than being attacked by zombie chickens is quite flattering. Thanks WeaselMomma for such a great honor.

I know everyone here knows her, but if any newbies are hanging around out there be sure and check out the World of Weasels for some good reading.

Now on to the part of the program where I give back to the community. This is the first time I have ever received an award that requires me to turn around and give it right back to someone else. Not only do I have to give it to someone else but five someones. I have decided to give it to two of my first blog friends. I don't know if that is the right term but that is what I will call them. They are always funny and fun to read. These friends are the first two sites listed below. The other three sites are others that I enjoy reading daily. All three sites are great reads and certainly worthy of a zombie chicken.

Daddy Files
New Dad Blog
Steely Dad
Real Men Drive Mini Vans
Bee's Musings

Thank you for coming and drive home safely.