My New Love

I have a new love in my life.  She's beautiful, efficient, and can make me a steaming hot cup of coffee in 30 seconds!  Her name is "K" and I LOVE her!

So I got this wondrous machine as a Christmas present for my wife.  Little did I know that I would fall so madly in love with it!  She originally asked for one for Christmas because she doesn't usually think to make herself a cup of coffee until the very last minute and by that point there is just no time to wait for a pot of coffee to brew.  Our old coffee maker even had a timer with delayed start and all that stuff on it, but that would require prior planning which apparently was beyond our realm of capability.  The other problem with making a pot or even a half a pot of coffee is that we inevitably leave a little bit of coffee in the pot.  Then we forget about it and don't clean it.  2-3 days later you have moldy coffee and grounds in your coffee pot.  Please don't judge us.

In comes the Keurig machine and all its glory!  You simply open the up the mechanism on top and insert a "K Cup"

                             

Close the mechanism and voila!  30 seconds later  you have a single cup on hot coffee!  Throw away the "K Cup" when you are done and all clean up is finished!  Its the best thing ever!  It's also great for simply making hot water for tea!  I have recently also become obsessed with drinking hot tea.  For Christmas Breanne got me a bunch of fancy teas from "Teavana".  It's a good thing we don't have one of these stores in our mall, because it would be quite dangerous for my pocket book.  I don't really like iced tea, but for some reason hot tea seems to hit the spot.  Since we purchased the machine, I approximately consume 3-4 mugs of coffee or tea a day.  I love it!  It's just so darn efficient!

I've always wondered how I could possibly get caffeine into my system quicker, and Keurig has seemed to answer this question!  Thanks K!  You have changed my life!  I know it sounds ridiculous to make such an exclamation about a coffee pot, but its true.  The way that I consume hot beverages has changed forever and I cannot go back. 

Christmas Letter from the Clairs

Merry Christmas,

Is it seriously time for another Christmas letter?  I feel like I just hit print on last year’s letter and here I am again for this year’s update!  Well, in true Clair Family fashion, we have been extremely busy this year.  A majority of this busyness has come from our work situations.  Breanne is still working in Speech Therapy and loves the company that she is currently with.  She is also still working on building her Pampered Chef business.  The biggest problem is finding a place for all of the new kitchen gadgets that need to mysteriously find homes in our cabinets!  Michael is also still in his same job with State Farm and just hit his five-year anniversary.  Michael has also started in a part-time ministry position at South Side Christian Church.  He is working at the Southwest Campus of our congregation and is in charge of our Small Group and Discipleship ministry.  Finally working in a ministry position has been a goal in the making for many years now, and he could not be happier to finally be serving in this sort of capacity.  It presents a whole new set of challenges, but it is totally worth it!  He loves it so far!

We celebrated Julia’s first birthday with a delightful cupcake party in March.  She is so much fun, we can hardly stand it!  Julia makes us laugh constantly and a joy to be around.    She is talking in phrases, singing, climbing/jumping/running everywhere, and loves snuggles, giving zerbits, reading books, and dancing to music.  Her favorite shows are Shaun the Sheep and Sesame Street.  She also has a newfound love of all things reindeer.

In July, Michael and Breanne had the great opportunity to travel to Venezuela with a mission team from our church.  We went to visit and work with a missionary that our church partners with.  We did things like: teaching a parenting/marriage conference, door-to-door invitations to this conference, painting, teaching men’s and women’s Bible study groups, and any other odd jobs they found for us.  We were blessed with an amazing host family, delicious food, warm hospitality, and met some wonderful new friends.

 For Thanksgiving, we traveled with Breanne’s mom, Bonnye, to New Mexico.  That’s right… we drove… with a twenty month old… all the way to New Mexico.  For those who don’t know, that’s two thousand five hundred seventy-five miles!!!  It was crazy!  Julia however, was a trooper and she did phenomenal!  We had a wonderful time with a lot of family and friends that we haven’t seen in a while.

So I suppose by this point in the letter, you have already noticed the picture enclosed and are just waiting for us to get to that!  Well now that the cat is officially out of the bag, we will be welcoming a new member to our family next year!  We couldn’t be more excited!  We are expecting our little “Chicken Nugget” (this is what it looks like on the sonogram picture) to arrive on July 24^th.  However, if this pregnancy is anything like it was with Julia, we will expect to see him or her around the first week of August.  We will be finding out the gender some time in late March, but like last time, the name will remain a secret until he or she arrives.  We are so excited to meet this new little one!  We know that 2012 is going to be full of all kinds of craziness and we look forward to sharing more of that with you in the coming year.  We wish you and your families many blessings this new year!

Love,

Michael, Breanne, & Julia…. And our little “Nugget”

Reindeer Games

So my daughter has a new obsession.  It all started with a trip to the doctors office a week ago.  In the waiting room there was a "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" book and in the short time she spent in the waiting room, she read the book several times.  It wasn't the classic Rudolph story, but some sort of generic sequel.  That night when she came home, she could not stop talking about this book.  She could tell you the whole story about Rudolph and some rabbits and something about how somebody ran into a tree.  (Obviously, I did not read the book as I don't have a good idea of what happened in it).  Whatever happened in the story, it made an impression on her because the girl is obsessed!  All we have heard about lately is reindeer and Rudolph. 

So as any good parent would do, we decided to feed her obsession.  She had never seen the actual Rudolph movie so we decided to go to the video store and rent it for her.  After several viewings, she was even more hooked!  So much so that the first thing we hear when she wakes up in the morning is "Reindeer... Rudolph".  The problem was that our rental had expired and had already been returned to the video store.  So after the 37th request for Rudolph on Saturday morning, I found myself headed to Wal-Mart to purchase the movie.  The trip was a success and we returned home with Rudolph in hand.

So after approximately 8 viewings of this movie this weekend, I have come up with a few observations.  Now I could not tell you the last time that I had actually seen this movie.  I have no memories of watching it as a child so for the most part, I was watching this movie with fresh eyes.  First of all, I want to know why Santa is such a jerk!  What happened to his Christmas spirit?  He is extremely crotchety and downright rude!  The head elf is super crotchety too!  While I'm at it, Dasher and Comet are pretty nasty as well.  What's with all the crabbiness? 

Now.. on to the elves.  So Hermy wants to be a dentist.  I don't recall him actually going to school for this.  I'm pretty sure he simply declared himself a dentist and it was so.  If only it were this easy.  If this is the case...  I am formally declaring myself an astronaut!!  I will be expecting a call from NASA any day now!

Unfortunately for Hermy, this declaration made him a "misfit" and he and Rudolf both found their way over to the "Island of Misfit Toys".  Now it is plain to see why most of the toys on the island are "misfits".  The train has square wheels and the cowboy is riding an ostrich.  The ailment of the doll is a little less apparent.  Based on a little light Internet research by my sister-in-law, it was discovered that the doll is a misfit because she has "emotional problems".  Not to ruffle any feathers, but she is a female doll so isn't that a little expected?  Just saying.  Thankfully, by the end of the movie, all of the toys were deemed good enough to be given to children and Santa saved the day.

And now the final question that was raised in the countless viewings of this movie.  Why in the world does Rudolph's nose whistle whenever it glows?  I don't get it!  Anyone have an answer to that?

All in all, I think the movie is a little weird.  Those old kid movies seem to lose a little bit of their magic when you watch them as an adult.  For my daughter, the magic is alive and well.  As all I will hear for the next few days is "Reindeer, Reindeer, Rudolph, Reindeer, Rudolph...."  and on and on it will go.  I fear that I will be watching this movie until late July and continuously singing "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer"!

Christmas Movies

This year we made the decision to cancel our cable subscription and I have yet to regret this decision.  We simply just do not watch that much television.  We cannot even keep up with the few major network shows that are on our DVR.  Several of which are still shows from last season. 

The time has come that I actually do regret this decision.  Only a tiny bit though.  There are a few Christmas movies that I try to make a point of watching every year and now the availability of said movies is quite limited.  They just don't show as many of them as I would like on the major networks.  Without TBS or ABC Family to turn to, I just don't know what to do?  I suppose I could rent them or just buy them, but that requires effort and money, which is just silly if you ask me. 

So here is my list of "Must See Christmas Movies".  These are in no particular order.

1. Miracle on 34th st.  (The old version) 
2. A Christmas Story (It's not Christmas without Ralphie!)
3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (The cartoon)
4. Christmas Vacation (Absolute classic.  Love this movie!!)
5. Home Alone (Definitely the first one and the second one is a maybe)
6. Elf (This is the only one that I have watched so far)
7. It's a Wonderful Life (Mainly I just need to see the last 20 minutes)
8. Charlie Brown Christmas
9. White Christmas (Breanne and I watched it before I proposed.  It's a must see every year)
10. The Santa Clause (I know it's cheezy, but I still like it.)

Any suggestions on how to economically achieve this?

What are your thoughts on my Christmas bucket list?

The Magical Draw of Freebies

You know how when you go to a bank or some other establishment and they have a little table of freebies?  Things like ink pens, candy or magnets?  You take a one or maybe two and you go about your merry way with whatever trinket you happened to have helped yourself too.  It's all well and good, and I am totally ok with this practice.  Although, there are times that it just gets on my nerves.  We do the same thing at our office.  We offer such whosits and whatsits as road atlases, ink pens, and calendars.  For you nerds out there, in the insurance world, this practice is regulated by law.  Legally, you are not allowed to give away anything that is valued at more than $15.  If you do, it is called "rebating".  This prevents any company from buying your business.  This is why whatever we are giving out is generally lame and cheap!  This is important to note as I am pulling out my soap box and am going to stand directly on top of it.  You ready?  Here goes...

THE THINGS WE ARE GIVING OUT ARE NEARLY WORTHLESS AND ARE NOT WORTH YOU GETTING ALL WORKED UP ABOUT!!!

Ok.  I feel better.  Allow me to explain.  Around this time of year we give away the ever coveted, wall calendars.  For some odd reason, people go nuts over wall calendars!!!  It's almost as if no one owns a portable device that has a usable calendar already in it!!  I digress.  We have several varieties featuring, rivers, pets, golf courses, and African Americans.  You heard me right.  There are several ethnically diverse calendars that feature people groups of certain demographics engaging in everyday activities like hopscotch and picnics.  There are several varieties such as Asian, Hispanic, African American.... it goes on and on.  To each his own.  Point is, we have a wide variety and people love them.  They are also greedy.  We cannot keep them all out on a table as people will help themselves to giant stacks of them.  As if you need that many?  And as if they are completely free to us in the first place!  I'm pretty sure people grab a bunch and give them away as Christmas presents.  As if people won't be suspicious of your cheapness as they see your present with the State Farm emblem all over it.

We also cannot give people a choice because it usually goes like this.

Me- "Would you like a calendar with puppies or with national parks?"
Customer- "one of each!!!"

It never fails!  Every time, they will take one of each!  And if you really want to see the ugly side of people, just tell them you are out of Calendars.  It's almost as if you are personally offending them by not having their Calendar!  The conversation today that is spurning this rant went something like this.

Lady- "Do you have any calendars?"
Me- "Let me check the back and see what we have"  "Looks like the only thing I have left is the golf course one".
Lady- (with a disgusted look on her face, she thrusts the calendar back at me) "I HATE golf".
Me- "Oh... well sorry.  We have more on order, they just haven't arrived yet"  " I do have this African American Heritage calendar if you like"  (She was not impressed)

She just gave me a death stare and left the building.  I assured her that she could stop back in a week or so and we might have a new shipment in.  I'm not sure if she will be coming back.

Then there is our habitual favorite, Paul.  Paul does not have any insurance with our agency, but you can be sure that every year around this time, he will make an appearance.  He will come in and ask for a quote on something really obscure like IRA's or health insurance and then after he has wasted 30 minutes of your time he says that he is going to think about it.  He ends with "by the way... do you guys have any calendars".  It's so exasperating because you know he is just wasting your time to get something free.  I think I am more annoyed that he thinks he is fooling us.  I mean, it is literally EVERY year!  This is my 6th Christmas season at this office and he has yet to miss a year!  Last year my conversation went like this.  I totally thought I was going to out smart him.

Me- "Hi Paul.  I don't really have time right now, I'm pretty busy, but can I just get you your calendar?"
Paul- "That would be great, but I still want a quote on car insurance"
Me- "You sure I can't just grab you a calendar".
Paul- (looking nervous) "no I need a quote too".
Me- (So I whip out the fastest auto quote you have ever seen).  "here you go"
Paul- "OK, thanks.  I'm going to think about it".

AHHHHHH!!!!!!  Well this year I know that he has a policy with another agent in town so when he comes in, I'm totally sending him to their office!  You're not getting one of my calendars this year Paul!!! Do you hear me!

So I ask you.  What is the elusive power of the Calendar?  Is it the pretty pictures?  Or is it just the allure that you are getting something free from your insurance company?  Is it a way to get back at them for taking your premium?  I just don't get it, I suppose.  You are going to have to offer me something a lot better than a calendar to get me excited.  However it would probably have to be of great value which as we learned earlier, would be rebating and is illegal.  Way to pay attention kids.  Class dismissed.

Co-Sleeping

Have you ever heard of the concept of "Co-Sleeping"?  It's basically the idea that you sleep with your child.  Here is a more official definition.

"Cosleeping (sometimes spelled co-sleeping, and also known as bed sharing or "having a family bed") is the practice of having your infant in your bed with you during sleep. Cosleeping promotes breastfeeding and bonding, and it is safer than crib/cot sleeping when practiced correctly. Cosleeping beyond the breastfeeding years is common in many non-Western cultures, and even in the West many families choose to extend cosleeping through toddlerhood and well into middle childhood."

This is actually a pretty hot button issue with a lot of parents and I'm certainly not trying to start any controversy or anything, but holy cow, this is an awful idea!  While on vacation this past week, Julia decided that she did not want to sleep in her own bed.  We could usually eventually get her to sleep in her pack n play, but she would wake up in the middle of the night almost every day!  So when she would wake up, we would just lay her down in bed with us.  This is such an oddity for her, because she is usually an awesome sleeper!  From the very beginning, we would put her down to sleep in her own crib and she would sleep through the night.  I would say that 90% of the time, we can just lay her down and she will go right to sleep without too much of a fuss.  And stay asleep which is even better! 

Unfortunately, this was not the case this past week!  When we would eventually bring her to our bed, not surprisingly, it turned out that she does not share a bed very well.  On those nights when we would bring her to our bed, nobody slept well.  She would just lay there and talk to herself or poke me to see if I was awake.  She would ask for mommy, grandma, ice cream, swimming, bubbles... and on and on it would go until she would eventually fall asleep.  And then the flailing would begin!  Kids flail around... a lot!  Eventually, I would be laying sideways, precariously balancing on the very edge of the bed, with Julia laying nearly sideways across the middle. 

I recently saw a magazine that had an article mentioned on the cover entitled, "Co-sleeping, the most powerful bonding time with your child".  I say "No Thank you!".  I will bond with you in the morning when I am properly rested!

Not being able to rest is one huge issue, but there is a whole other issue that arises when you are sharing your bed with your child.  When you have a toddler in your bed, how are you supposed to have time for other mommy and daddy bedroom activities?  Of course I mean pillow fights and jumping on the bed.  What were you thinking? 

If co-sleeping is your thing, then go for it.  I for one, will not be joining in!  We were so happy to get back home to our own toddler free bed and I'm sure, Julia was happy to have her own bed back as well!

Traveling Woes

On most evenings when we are at home, we have a near perfect child.  Admittedly, I'm a little bias, but it's true.  Mainly this perfection is in relation to her sleeping ability.  95% of the time we simply lay her down around 7:30 and she goes right to sleep without a fuss at all.  8-12 hours later, she wakes up without a peep all night.  She naps great as well.  We just lay her down in the afternoon and she goes right to sleep for 2 or more hours.  It's amazing!

Since we have been on our trip to New Mexico this has not been the case.  Our perfect little sleeper chose to not come along for the trip.  For the first leg of the trip, we drove to Springfield MO. to my mom's house.  We arrived at close to 11 in the evening and we promptly put her to bed.  Unfortunately, this did not stick and Julia thought her short nap in the car was quite sufficient for her evening rest.  She promptly woke back up and was WIRED!!  She was running around like crazy until 2AM!  Finally, after much coaxing, we got her to fall asleep

And this similar story has played out for our entire trip so far.  Nearly every nap has resulted in humongous crying fits.  At one point we were in the room with her (out of her eyesight) and she would cry and cry and cry... stop and say "Daddy?" and then return to her fit.  She is totally playing me!  At one point though, we couldn't help but laugh because she stopped crying long enough to say "Ice cream.... Yummy!".  We had had fried ice cream for lunch and she was apparently remembering the deliciousness.  

And that brings us to this morning.  She woke up first at 4:30.  I got her settled back down but it didn't stick.  At 6:30 she was up again.  It was at this point that I considered it a lost cause.  I resigned myself to the fact that sleeping in was not an option today.  Now I am introducing Julia to "Beauty and the Beast".  She is on the floor watching the movie with her "O's" (Cheerios) and I am on my computer wrapped up in a snuggie. (don't judge me.  It's cold in here). Although I am fast forwarding through all of the scary parts.  I never realized how scary the beast could be.  Julia doesn't seem to mind, but the dad in me feels the need to fast forward.  

Now I know that kids typically have trouble with sleeping while traveling, but I'm really hoping that she can pull it together because she is exhausting me!  It's a good thing she is so darn cute and totally worth all of the trouble.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Today I will be taking part in one of my most favorite activities!  We are decorating our house for Christmas!!! 

Now hold on.  Before you start to throw stones at me and accuse me of not giving Thanksgiving its propor honor, allow me to explain the timing.  On Friday we will be leaving to travel to New Mexico for the Thanksgiving Holiday to spend time with some of Breanne's family.  We will not be getting back until the Sunday after Thanksgiving.  Once we get back, I'm sure we will be pretty busy and the time to decorate is just not there.  At least, not as early as we would like it.  So we decided that ideally we would want to come home to a house that was already dressed up in Christmas cheer!  Besides, Christmas only comes once a year and we want to maximize as much of the holiday season as possible!  So we are going to put up our decorations tonight!

We even have a few of our very own christmas traditions that we started a few years ago.  Every year while we are putting up our decorations we watch the movie "Elf".  It is definitely one of my favorite Christmas movies.  Will Ferrill is hysterical!   We also make hot chocolate and continue to play Christmas music once the movie is over.  It takes us a while to decorate.  We have a lot of stuff.

We have our main tree that is designated as the "pretty" tree.  Its the one that is color coordinated with red, silver and black ornaments.  The ornaments are symetrically placed on the tree with great care and there is an enormous amount of lights on it.  We have a secondary tree that is only 3 or 4 feet tall.  This tree is designated as the "everything else" tree.  This is where we put special ornaments from growing up or any other fun ones that we just happen to like, but do not match the "pretty" tree.  We even have a tiny miniature tree for Julia's room and we bought a little pack of Sesame Street character ornaments for it. We also put lighted garland along the top of our cabinets, which also requires me precariously walking across our counter tops trying not to fall.  One of these years, I'm sure I will.  Finally we have a Christmas village, but sadly, I think they will remain in their boxes this year.  Because Julia has taken over portions of our living room with all of her toys, we will have to just have to do without it this year.  However, we will get to bring back Julia's Little People Nativity Set.  She loved it last year so I'm excited to see her play with it more this year.

I'm so excited to just have time with the family tonight and to continue these traditions with Julia.  I'm sure she will be an awesome help at decorating.  She probably won't drive me crazy at all!  Sarcasm intended.  I imagine that a bulk of the decorating will be accomplished after she goes to bed.

The Circus

The other day Breanne sent me a message wanting to know if I wanted to go to the circus because she could get free tickets.  My first thought was, "you are aware that there are clowns at the circus, right?"  (My fear of clowns has been well documented)  However, I didn't want to lead off with this thought.  I needed to sound like an adult and not someone who was petrified of a souce of childrens joy.  So I played it off with such comments as, "we are pretty busy this weekend, lets not add one more thing" and "do you think Julia is old enough to even enjoy the circus?".  Much to my shagrin, I lost and we were heading to the circus. 

My hope was, that maybe if I could stay a good distance away from all of the clowns, then I wouldn't have to worry.  Although, they do have the ability to smell my fear so I was aftaid that they would come and seek me out.  I dropped the girls off at the door and found a place to park.  This left me to navigate my way to our seats all alone!  I simply kept my head down and swiftly made my way through the crowds.  I was pleased to find that we were in the upper mezzanine level in the middle of the row.  This assured that I would not be in close contact with any of satans minions.  (That's right.  Clowns are Satan's minions!  I'm sure it's in revelation somewhere).  Anyway, I tried my best to enjoy the circus and surprisingly there were definitely parts that I did enjoy.  The acrobat people and the jugglers were quite enjoyable!  I especially liked the elephants.  While I can't help but be sad that they are in a travelling circus instead of in the wild, how can you not smile at a baby elephant that skips and stands on its head!  I dare you to not to think its the cutest thing you ever did see.  There were other aspects of the show that I was less impressed with.  I found it completely unncecessary for the dog show lady to be dressed up as Lady GaGa.  It was just plain silly.  Also, the ring master felt the need to sing Bruno Mars' "Just The Way You Are" while the trapese lady did her little act instead of just playing the actual music.  It was just plain weird and it totally made the dude look like a creeper.  It didn't help that he looked oddly like William Shatner, who is probaby also a creeper.

The hardest part of the show to deal with was the shear length of it.  Maybe it was becase we had a 1 1/2 year old with us who was up past her bed time, but we were definitely ready to go by the end.  The problem was that they started 25 mintutes late and extended the intermission.  This was to allow them to make as much money possible from all the parents of kids who wanted to ride the elephants and ponies, and get their picture taken with the giant snake.  You could also take this time to purchase programs, light up wands, cotton candy, popcorn, soda, balloons, and various other things you don't need.  The up side to having a 1 year old is that she doesn't know that she wants these things yet.  So we got off fairly easy on this one!

Overall, the circus was a success.  The greatest success was that I was never less than 50 feet from a clown!!  However, upon declaring this last night on facebook, Breanne corrected me.  There was one point that a clown walked right in front of our section in the mezzanine, but I was too busy updating Twitter on my phone to realize it.  She saw that I was occupied at the moment and didn't point out the proximity of the minion.  How awesome of a wife is she! So, I suppose the night was a success because I was never knowingly, within 50 feet of a clown!  Thats a good day in my book!

Six Years and Still Ticking

At this point in time exactly 6 years ago I was laying on an operating table with  my chest cut open and my heart stopped.  I still get the shivers when I think about it that graphically.  The thought that doctors were inside my heart fiddling with things boggles my mind!

It's around this time of year that I begin to get all reflective and consider how blessed I am.  I pair that with the coming holiday of Thanksgiving and I just get all mushy inside.  I am an incredibly blessed individual.  First of all, I'm alive.  I had a brother who cared enough to force me to go to the doctor when I was way overdue for my annual checkup.  This is what started the whole "I need surgery" process.  I had a good health insurance policy that paid for a majority of my surgery.  Hooray for not being over $100,000 in medical debt!  I am thankful that I am now the healthiest that I have ever been.  I can exercise regularly and am able to compete in competitions like The Warrior Dash.  (I use the word "compete" very loosely, but you get what I mean).

That is just the beginning of how blessed that I am.  I have the most amazing wife that a guy could ever ask for.  She supports me in all things and accepts me for who I am.  Flaws and all.  She is a master in the kitchen and keeps me well fed.  She is way smarter than me too.  (Don't tell her I said so).    Her dedication to everything that she does amazes me.  Nothing is 1/2 way.  I'm continually amazed at how she is a perfect fit for me.  Thank you God for my beautiful and talented wife!  Did I mention that she is an incredible mommy too!  I love watching her play with Julia.

Speaking of Julia... is she not the cutest little thing that you ever did see?  I'm always amazed at how wonderful life is with her in it!  I couldn't imagine what life would be like without her.  The way she dances and smiles always steals my heart.  If you look very closely at her pinky finger you will noticed that I am very tightly wrapped around it.

I have an incredible church family as well.  I even now have the opportunity to work on staff there!  I love that I get to work with such wonderful people!  Even if it is just a part time gig, I am so happy to be doing it.  My day time job people are pretty incredible as well! 

I'm surrounded by love and grace everywhere I turn and for that, I am extremely grateful!  Every tic of my heart reminds me of that.  I pray that I will get to hear that ticking for many, many, many grateful years to come.


P.S.... I told you I get all gushy this time of year. 

Assuming the Worst

What is it about people that causes them to be so pessimistic?  I have encountered a lot of people today that just want to bring me down with their "Debbie Downer" attitudes and it's driving me a little crazy.  Why do we go into some situations and automatically assume the absolute worst?  Are we just assuming the worst so we can be pleasantly surprised when the proverbial you know what doesn't actually hit the fan?

I particularly see this in my insurance job.  Why do people assume that we are going to go above and beyond the call of duty to try and not pay their claim or take care of them?  Why would you assume that we are not doing our best?  For example, a customer today called to make a claim.  From the moment I answered the phone this person was threatening that we should "pay their claim or else!".  Ok... how about you give me your name first and we can actually discuss what happened!  I know people don't like insurance companies but we have better things to do with our time than sit around and piss people off.  While I love being yelled at on the phone and all, I do have other things to get done.  So let's just assume that my first duty is to not purposely try and screw you over!  Example 2.  I have another insured who was in an accident who I am helping file a claim through the other insurance company.  The other company cannot make any payments on the claim until they have first spoken with their insured and taken a statement from them.  Unfortunately, said insured is being difficult and not returning calls to that adjuster.  This is delaying the entire process for my customer.  While this is frustrating, this is just the way it works sometimes.  The other company's claims adjuster assured me that they were calling their customer on a daily basis and they want to get things going just as badly as I do.  My customers response to this was "how do you know they are calling every day?".  Their assumption is that the other company is purposely doing nothing with the claim to avoid paying out any money.  Why would you suddenly assume the worst?  I can guarantee that that adjuster wants to get this claim off of his desk and is not just holding onto it just because.  While I'm sure he also loves getting yelled at by angry people just as much as I do, I'm sure he is doing the best he can.

So back to my initial question.  Why do we go into certain situations assuming the worst will happen?  Believe it or not, everyone is not out to get you!  Give people the benefit of the doubt before you go in with your guns a blazin!  And be nice to your insurance guy.  He does the best he can!

Alright, I'm going to put my rose colored glasses back on and go back to work.  I prefer to be an optimist.

I'm in a Pickle

Well the rain delay of Wednesday nights game 6 and the subsequent miraculous win of last nights game has put me in a pickle.  Given my new found love of baseball and the inexplicable dedication I have shown to this post season, I absolutely MUST watch the final game.  I have to show my support.  Here is where the problem lies.  Several months ago I purchased tickets to go see the musical "Wicked" in Peoria.  My mom is travelling all the way up here to come and see it with me so I certainly cannot cancel those plans.  But what is a guy to do?  Do I follow the game during the show, via my Iphone?  I'm sure my friends will keep me up to date with copious amounts of play by play action on Twitter and Facebook.  Or, do I record the game and somehow avoid all human/Internet contact until I can watch the game. 

I probably would not be able to even watch the game until tomorrow evening.  That is, unless I just don't sleep tonight and I watch the game after I get home at midnight!  I'm so conflicted!

I think I am leaning towards the plan of making a valiant attempt at avoiding all contact with others and trying to watch the game for myself. I just can't handle the thought of watching nearly every post season game and then missing the final game. So here is the plan.

- I am first going to disable all notifications on my phone.  This way if someone posts on my wall on Facebook, I wont accidentally see what happened.
- Actually, I should probably just turn my phone off all together.  If you need me after 7pm tonight, you had better just call Breanne.
- I will not sign into any social media of any kind after 7 pm this evening until I have watched the game.
- During intermission and while leaving the theater tonight I will have my fingers firmly placed into my ear canals as to avoid overhearing any passing conversations concerning the outcome of the game.
- I will not listen to the radio or television at all tonight or tomorrow!
- We are going to the pumpkin patch tomorrow with my mom and also briefly visiting friends.  They will be under STRICT advisement to NOT tell me what happened!  This means you Wheelers!

If anyone texts or calls to tell me what happened I will be SOOOO upset, so don't anyone ruin it for me!  Seriously... I will learn a deadly form hand to hand contact and bring to your face!  Don't tempt me!

I really think I may just end up staying up tonight because I don't think I could handle the stress of the day tomorrow not knowing and worrying that someone was going to tell me.  All it would take is one person saying "How bout them Cardinals!" and all will be ruined.  I can see myself observing everyone at the pumpkin patch wearing Cardinals gear and analyzing what it all means!  Are they wearing their shirts in celebration or as an act of solidarity supporting the incredible season?  I'm already stressed about this and it hasn't even happened yet!

Wish me luck!  And seriously... bodily harm will ensue if you ruin it for me!

Go CARDS!!!!!!!!

Fever Pitch

Many who know me, know that I am not huge sports fan.  I get interested in the occasional Hockey game, but for the most part, you couldn't really describe me as a regular sports fan.  I will watch the super bowl every year, but other than that, I am just not interested in football.  The main problem with football is that its primary coverage directly conflicts with Sunday afternoon naps.  This is a problem.

Basketball is completely lost on me altogether and I have absolutely zero interest in watching it.  I might show a mild amount of interest during March madness but that is only because I filled out a tournament bracket.  My methods of doing so are such that any real sports fan would cringe.  Last year I decided the winner by who I thought would win in a fight between their mascots.  I did not do well.  The year before that, I flipped a coin.  Again, my results were less than stellar.

In spite of my overall lack of interest in sports in general, I somehow have been swept up in post season baseball.  The rest of the year, I just don't care.  Unless I am actually at a game, I just find baseball to be really boring a majority of the time.   Maybe its because the baseball season lasts an eternity and I don't feel like there is as much on the line if your team loses a game in June.  But now, if you lose in post season, its a huge deal!  This year, I have watched nearly every Cardinals game.  It has been an incredible post season to watch.  I will personally take offense to anyone who calls me a "bandwagon fan" though.  While I can't say that I have been involved in their season this year, I have had a St. Louis Cardinals allegiance since I was a little boy watching Ozzie Smith doing back flips on the field.  I am really surprised how much I have cared about it this year.  I am on the edge of my seat yelling at the inexplicable decisions made by Tony LaRussa.  Losing my mind over the amazingness of Albert Pujols' three home runs in a single game!  I've even been getting ticked off after a tough loss.  My wife contends that I am not fun to watch games with when they are losing, but I think I have been perfectly fine to deal with.  It's been so fun to watch and I just can't help to wonder what has happened to me.  Who is this guy that screams at the TV over a double play?  I'm sure that this is only a temporary set back in my otherwise flawless record in not caring.  When next April comes around I will be as equally uninvested in baseball as I was the prior year.   That is, unless the Cardinals make it to postseason.  Maybe I'm not so much a "bandwagon fan" as I am a "fair weather fan".  Is that worse?

Late Night Working

So I go to bed tonight, totally prepared for a blissful nights sleep.  Unfortunately, my body had other plans.  For some unknown reason I woke up after an hour.  I was wide awake.  I tossed and turned and tossed and turned but could not seem to get myself to fall back asleep.  So I figured that if I wasn't going to be sleeping, I may as well get up and try and accomplish something.  So I get myself out of bed and get to work.  I pull out my laptop and for the last hour and a half I have been doing my church work.  I've been emailing various people that I need to connect with and doing a little bit of writing.  I'm trying to do some recruiting for some open volunteer positions that I need to fill so I have been writing up a "job description" to give to a few people.  It's just too hard to give someone all of the details they need in a two minute conversation on a Sunday, when all they are thinking about is what is for lunch, so I thought a description would help.  We will just have to see.

This whole second job thing is kind of weird for me.  I'm still trying to get the hang of things.  It's completely different than any other job I have ever had.  I don't necessarily have regular tasks each week. It's not like my State Farm job where I have people calling me all day wanting stuff.  Everything for South Side is pretty much self started.  Especially since this is a fairly new position.  I decide what I need to do, and I go do it.  I'm also trying to transition from being a volunteer to being staff.  Before, if I wanted to do something, I had to go through the proper leadership channels to get it done.  Now, I have the authority (at least a little) to go and do it.  I'm still trying to figure out what to do with that.  The other weird part about this transition is that I don't really feel like I am "working".  At least not yet.  Maybe I will later, although I kind of hope not.  So far I just feel like a really involved volunteer.  I'm sure that will change eventually though.  Overall, I'm loving this change in life at the moment.

Anyway, that is enough.  I'm kind of rambling at this point.  I should try going back to bed, but I still can't say that I am really tired.  It's 4:08 AM so I really should be.  It's going to be a really sad morning tomorrow I can already tell.  The coffee pot will be my best friend.

Wedding Connoisseur

This weekend I had the pleasure of witnessing a great friend of mine get married.  I had the even greater pleasure of standing up with him as his Best Man.  I have been in a ton of weddings in my life.  I could easily own my own tuxedo by this point.  I hear bridesmaids always complain that it's worse buying the bridesmaid dresses because you never wear them again, but I still say that renting the tux is worse.  You actually get to keep your ugly dress, therefore making it slightly better.  Anytime I start to argue this point I am flooded with complaints from angry women who want to include all of the accessories such as jewelry, hair, nails, blah blah blah, etc, etc, into the argument as well.  It finally gets to the point where you just want to concede defeat just to not hear about it anymore.  Fine, being a woman is always worse than being a man.  You win!  But anyway, I digress...
 
If my memory serves me correctly, I have the following wedding credits to my name.  I have been the usher for at least 1 wedding.  I have sang in 3.  I have been a groomsman for 3, the best man for 3, and the groom for 1.  I believe that this makes me an expert, does it not?  So here are a few observations that I am able to make about weddings in general.

- Everyone hates pictures.  I don't think I have ever been to a wedding in which people were happy to be getting their picture taken.  It's just such an arduous task to get everyone together, not blinking, and smiling for a single moment.  The pictures at my wedding were particularly annoying.  I don't think we got a single good picture of the entire family.  We had one of everyone present and that was good enough for me.  The photographer wanted another one, but we flat out refused.  "We are done!" I said. 

- I think the best moment of a wedding is when the doors open up and the groom sees the bride for the first time.  Call me old fashioned, but I like it when the Bride and Groom don't see each other before the wedding.  Of course this only adds to the frustration of taking longer to get pictures done after the ceremony, but it is totally worth it. 

- There needs to be entertainment for all of the guests at the reception as they wait for the wedding party to arrive.  It feels like an eternity when you are hungry and waiting for the wedding party!  Why not have something going on.  Hire a band or a comedian to entertain guests.  Better yet, have a play!  I might be on to something here!

- Awesome Best Man skills are required! Ok, not really, but when a caterer knocked over a table in the middle of the dance floor during my best man speech, I totally recovered and kept things moving.  I kept it light and drew everyone's attention back at me.  Mainly because I like attention, but whatever.

- Nothing gets a group of white folk dancing quicker than an open bar and "The YMCA".  I don't know what magical powers the village people possess but for some reason whenever this song plays, the dance floor gets flooded with people who are ready to dance! 

- Sweet dance skills are NOT required!  In fact, it totally helps.  It was a blast attempting to dance the night away, especially because I had nothing to feel self conscious about because no one else could dance either.  There were definitely many points in the night in which my "dance fingers" came out.  You know, the pointer fingers that emerge whenever you start to bust a move.  Many people opt for "dance thumbs" instead.  it's the same principle.

- One lone dancer can enthusiastically keep the party going for the entire night!  Thanks to Alaina, the dancing at the wedding this weekend did not die.  She totally kept the party going!  I think she could totally sell her services at other weddings as the "designated dance party captain".  The title is still a work in progress.

I was doing some thinking this weekend and I think this might be the final wedding that I am a part of for a very long time.  I can't think of any other friends who are still single who may have me as part of their wedding.  If this was to be the last one, I'm glad it was for the Logues.  It was a wonderful wedding and I am so happy for Jason and Heather.  I wish them a lifetime of happiness!      

Potpourri

So I haven't blogged in quite some time.  You can call it writer's block, but that's just a fancy word for lazy.  You could also call it busyness, which is really just the nice word for lazy.  The fact is, I haven't been writing lately and I should.  I've had ideas for blogs, but just haven't taken the time to do so.  My DVR isn't going to watch itself now is it?  So here is a round up of a few things that have been going on lately.  Thus the name, potpourri because there is no general theme to what is to follow.  Just a little bit of everything and really nothing of any consequence or importance.  I honestly don't even know why you are reading this.  But if you are reading this then you get a gold star.

Hot Dogs 
My daughter has recently become obsessed with Hot Dogs.  For the longest time, Julia was the best little eater.  It didn't matter what we gave her, she ate it without a problem.  Broccoli, Green beans, potatoes, chicken, it didn't matter.  She would eat most anything.  Lately, things have not been so easy.  She will politely decline whatever you try to give her.  She just pushes away the fork and ever so sweetly says "no".  How can you argue with that?  She will then request one of her favorites, which is "crackers".  Crackers is more of a universal word for her and encompasses all things in bread, wafer, or chip format.  We are trying so hard to raise a child that knows they have to eat what you give them and that you don't get to order something different just because you don't like the choices laid before you.  We do a fairly good job, but sometimes you just have to give in.  The other night, she started loving Hot Dogs.  It's a little out of nowhere, because she used to not like them.  As we were making dinner Julia followed us around the kitchen saying "hot dog hot dog hot dog please please hot dog please hot dog please hot dog hot dog please please hot dog hot dog hot dog please please please hot dog...."  and on and on it went.  FINE!!  She didn't have what we were making for dinner that night.  She had 2 hot dogs and was  very happy girl.  At least she was being polite about it.  And again, who can resist that sweet little voice of hers.  This girl is totally going to get whatever she wants in life.  it's bad news.

Whats in a Name?
My sister-in-law suggested I write about a crazy name that I came across at work the other day.  As I have discussed in the past, I work in an area of town that is borderline shady.  It's not horrible location, but  I do have a very interesting clientele that I come into contact with.  Several of which have very interesting names.  Some of my favorites were sisters names Sparkle and Starlet.  They were all sorts of fantastic.  I'm just not sure how I am supposed to take anyone named Sparkle seriously.  Do you think this girl ever has a chance of becoming a doctor or a judge with a name like that?  Can you hear someone saying "Please rise, the honorable judge Sparkle presiding".  I just don't see it.  The most recent name I came across was a girl named "Miracle Roach".  This poor girl.  It's bad enough that her last name is roach, but for her parents to put a descriptive word before it as her first name is just outright child abuse.  If I were her I would be getting a name change STAT!

Occupy What?
I will preface the following with fully acknowledging that I am totally uninformed on this subject. So apparently, there have been all of these "Occupy" protests going on all over the country.  I keep hearing the words "Occupy Wall Street" in the news and I have no idea what they are talking about.  It's just a bunch of people who are protesting outside of Wall Street, but I have no idea what they are protesting.  These protests have spread all over the country and there was even an "Occupy Springfield" rally just last week.  Again, despite all of the news coverage I have heard about it, I can't really tell what it is all about.  Is it a political movement?  Its a big group of load angry people so it sure does look like a political movement.  I can pretty much guarantee that I don't have the desire or the time to figure out what it is all about let alone join them.  Call me a bad American if you want, but I just don't have time for such shenanigans.  Just because you are the loudest doesn't necessarily make you right.

Phlebotomist In Training
As part of having a chunk of metal in my heart I am required to take coumadin on a daily basis.  As part of taking coumadin on a daily basis, I am forced to get my blood checked regularly.  I suppose its a fair trade.  I take medicine and get my blood monitored in exchange for not dying.  Living good.  Strokes bad.  I guess I can suck it up and deal with it.  When everything in life is going great, I only have to get my blood checked once a month.  I show up at the clinic and let them poke me with a needle and then I go on my merry way.  It only takes a few minutes of my time.  For about a year or so, this was my routine.  Everything was going great and I made my once a month visits like a good boy.  For some weird reason, my blood has not wanted to cooperate as of late.  It seems like every time I go, my blood is not at the correct thinness or thickness and they have to adjust my dosage amount and see me again in a week.  Currently I am taking a 4 mg pill on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday and then I take a 5 mg pill the rest of the week.  I have had this dosage and schedule changed about 6 times now.  It is extremely difficult for me to remember anymore.  Today when I went to get my blood drawn, I got stuck with the phlebotomist in training.  I was worried when the lady called me back and she had someone else standing over her shoulder making sure she did everything correctly.  She started by debating which arm to poke and then having her helper determine where the vein was.  I was not filled with confidence!  She then tried to perform the blood draw.  She poked me with the needle but nothing was happening.  No blood was filling the tube.  She tried to wiggle it around a little bit (which felt awesome by the way) and had no luck.  Her helper then took over and proceeded to poke me in the other arm.  Cause that's the best plan.  Let's poke the bleeder with more holes!  So I left the office with both arms bandaged up.  I understand that people have got to learn somewhere but I think the next time they need to find a different guinea pig.  I've had my turn.  Lets hope that today's blood results are good and I don't have to go back for a while because this is getting really old!

Crazy October
All of a sudden this month has exploded into all sorts of craziness.  Every single weekend has an event planned and most evenings in this month already have something planned.  Nights to relax on the couch are very few and far between.  These are all good things that are happening, but we will just be a little nuts for a while.  We also have a guest coming to stay with us next week.  (Can't wait to see you next week Reagen!)  Along with this we can also add in the fact that Breanne is still doing Pampered Chef stuff and I have started my second job at the church!  Holy cow!  We are forced to become more organized than usual, but we can totally do it.  As we like to say, "We are going to kick this months...  lets say hind end".  So if I fail to blog any more this month, lets just blame it on the busyness.  That's a good excuse.

Well, that's enough for today.  If you made it through this whole thing, you will receive your gold star in 6-8 weeks.  Gold Stars are of no monetary value and may not be redeemed for cash.

INSANITY Completed

As some of you know, I have been on this kick to try and get healthier for about a year and a half now.  It all started shortly after my daughter was born.  It was also around this time that I had my annual physical.  Turns out that I had super high cholesterol and was becoming a fatty.  There is no nice way of putting it.  I had gained 30 pounds over the past few years.  My doctor gave me a stern talking to about my current state of affairs.  Especially considering that I had open heart surgery in 2004, I needed to take better care of myself.  I think I have used my heart surgery in the past as an excuse to not over do it and not push myself.  That was the wrong way to look at it.  It's because of my heart surgery, that I need to push myself and exercise.  After seeing my beautiful daughter come into this world, I decided that I wanted to be here for here many many years to come.  I can't control the things I was born with, like a stupid heard that doesn't work right, but I could control the way I ate and how much exercise I did.  So I purchased P90X and started regularly working out.  If you have ever been awake at 2AM and watching television, then you probably are aware of what P90X is.  Change your life in 90 days, get muscles in places you didn't know existed, blah blah blah.  I was skeptical of my ability to do it, but decided to give it a try anyway.  So I put myself through 90 days of getting up early and working out.  I certainly couldn't workout with the intensity that they do on the videos, but I did pretty well.  I didn't get 6 pack abs or anything crazy like that, but I felt way better about myself and managed to lose some weight in the process.  So I continued the P90X program in one form or another for a little over a year.  By the beginning of August of this year I was getting very sick of it.  I love Tony Horton and all, but after a year, he was getting a little on my nerves.  So I was ready to try something new.  I purchased another product by the Beach Body company called INSANITY.  It's all capitalized because it is insane!  This program promises to change your life in 60 days.  Again, if you are up late at night, you have probably seen this infomercial as well.  Its pretty much a ridiculous amount of jumping, squatting, push-upping craziness that is non stop!  Holy crap this program sucks!!!  Not in a bad way, but in the "I hate my life, why am I doing this" sort of way.  Every morning when my alarm went off at 6am, I dreaded what was to come.  However, after each workout, I managed to feel much better about myself and could definitely see some results happening.  It was with this workout, that I finally got my weight to start with a 1 again!  That hasn't happened for years!  Thanks Shaun T and the rest of the Insanity crew!

One way that this program measures your progress is through a fit test.  There are 8 different exercises that you do for a minute each and then you record your results.  You do the fit test 5 times throughout the program.  The first time I did the fit test, I thought I was going to die!  What in the world had I gotten myself into?  At the end I felt dizzy and definitely debated whether or not I was going to throw up.  Luckily I didn't.  Today, after finishing my final fit test, I still felt like I wanted to die, but there was no urge to turn myself inside out.  Plus, I did way better and got a lot more reps on each move, so go me! Here are my results.

Switch Kicks:  Day 1 - 100    Day 60 - 116
Power Jacks:   Day 1-  40    Day 60- 53
Power Knees:  Day 1- 80     Day 60-101
Power Jumps:  Day 1- 25     Day 60- 41
Globe Jumps:   Day 1- 7       Day 60- 9
Suicide Jumps:  Day 1- 10     Day 60- 15
Push-up Jacks:  Day 1- 10    Day 60- 20
Low Plank Oblique: Day 1- 35  Day 60- 60

I love seeing that I can do more on day 60 than when I started!  For those that may be interested, here are my photo results as well.   My starting weight was 206 and I ended up at 196.

Day 1

Day 1

Day 60

Day 60

Huge thanks goes out to my wife for putting up with my morning schedule and also to Darrin Miller, my workout buddy.  It's only because I knew he was waiting for me to show up at his house bright and early that I even continued to do it!

Third Most Violent

According to Forbes Magazine, Springfield IL. has been named the third most violent city in the United States.  Really?  Of ALL the cities in the country, we are third most violent?  This is completely ridiculous. Certainly the city has it's problem areas but by no means do I think we are the third most violent city in the country.  My work is located right next to the bad side of Springfield and we insured many homes and vehicles that are located in these bad neighborhoods.  And while we do have our occasional drive by shooting homeowners claims I still don't think we are the third worst!  What about places like Chicago or East St. Louis?  Both of these cities are in IL and are well known for their violence.  You couldn't pay me to go to East St. Louis simply because I know that it is a dangerous city.  Was this place not even included in the survey?  What about LA or NYC?  I just don't think the people at Forbes are trying hard enough.

Here is my other beef with this list.  Anchorage Alaska is on it.  Really?  How violent could Anchorage really be?  Sure it's cold there and maybe that makes people more irritable, therefore causing more violence but I just don't see it.  It's more likely to me that people would stay inside where it is warm instead of being outside committing crimes.  Maybe people are just mad that Sarah Palin has become the state mascot and they are taking it out on their own citizens.  Or, maybe the survey is also taking into account violent crimes committed by animals too.  Bear attacks and Moose home invasions are surly a staple up there right?

All in all, this survey is ridiculous and I refuse to believe that Springfield is the third most dangerous city in the country.  I rather like Springfield and can vouch for the fact that it is just fine to live in.  Just make sure you are not spending your nights walking up and down any streets numbered 9-24 and you won't have any problems.

Cause I'm Not Busy Enough

I am extremely excited about some new developments that have come about in my life as of late.  I am excited to announce that I am joining the staff of South Side Christian Church in a part-time capacity as the "Director of Adult Ministries" at the Southwest Campus.  That's a mouthful isn't it?  The main question that I get asked is if I am keeping my job State Farm.  This is a resounding yes.  As this new job is only part time, I will definitely be keeping my State Farm gig for quite some time.  Plus, the office would be very sad without me and I just couldn't stand to make them sad. 

The next question I get is "what are you doing".  Well I am glad you asked.  Mainly I will be overseeing our connection group ministries.  Connection groups are bible studies that meet in peoples homes throughout the week.  If you have never been in a connection group, I highly recommend it.  I have been the leader of one for about 5 years now and it is almost always the highlight of my week.  My group has stuck with me through all that life has thrown at me.   This group has brought meals to us when Julia was born.  They supported us in our mission trip to Venezuela.  They pray for me and my family when things are awesome and when things are super crappy too.  Some of the closest people in my life are in my connection group.  You are truly missing out if you don't have something like this in your life.

So I will be in charge of all of our groups at the Southwest Campus while also helping new people find a group to be a part of.  For all of you Southside people who may be reading this, come find me if you want to talk about finding a group for you!

With the addition of this exciting opportunity comes a whole new level of craziness for the Clair house!  We definitely need to have a whole new level of organization to make sure everything gets done.  I foresee regular calendar sycronization summits in our future.  We are so excited to meet the challenge head on though.

Actually using my college degree in my job?  What a novel concept! 

Warrior Dash: After

So the Warrior Dash is over and I managed to survive.  The obstacles themselves were not so bad, however I totally overestimated my running ability.  For some ridiculous reason I did not account for the fact that I wouldn't be running on flat paved roads.  I'm not sure why this thought didn't cross my mind.  It would be a crazy thing to expect.  Well, I guess I didn't really expect that, but I never really considered it either.  The running path was a rocky, bumpy trial and very steep!  I would say that over a third of the race was up hill.  I would love to say that I ran the entire race, but there was definitely some walking involved.  Much to Thomas' chagrin, but he was good sport and prodded me along.  He didn't even leave me behind which I thought was very nice of him.  Maybe next time I do it I can keep up. 

Here is a review from my previous post about the obstacles and how I thought I would handle the obstacles along with how I actually handled them.

Obstacle 1- Road Rage- "Stampede through a scrap yard of rusted wreckage".  Basically you climb over a bunch of cars.  Should be pretty fun. This was super hard because it wasn't just the cars to jump over.  They bookended the cars with several sets of tires to run through as well.  Tires, car, tires, car, tires.  It was exhausting.
Obstacle 2- Barricade Breakdown- "Hurdle over the barricades and crawl under barbed wire".  I'm a bleeder so this could complicate things.  Also difficult, but only because you just ran a mile to get to the obstacles.
Obstacle 3- Rubber Ricochet- "Ram your way through the rubber tire jungle".  They just hung up a bunch of tires close together.  Doesn't sound too difficult to get through.  As I thought, it was silly and not a difficult one.
Obstacle 4- Cliffhanger- "Repel down the steep ravine".  This sounds fun.  Really looking forward to this.  Totally sad that this obstacle was completely absent.  Dang it!  That was going to be fun!
Obstacle 5- Chaotic Crossover- "Crawl across the tangled nets".  Given my mad coordination skills, or lack there of, this could pose a threat.  This one was pretty precarious.  I managed it ok, but it was pretty difficult
Obstacle 6- Dead weight Drifter- "Trudge through the waist deep water and over the logs"- I'm sure running the rest of the race in wet shoes and underwear is going to be awesome.  This was definitely more like nipple deep water and not waist deep.  I'm a tall guy too so anyone who was short really had a hard time with this.  The logs also rolled so it was easy to lose your balance. 
Obstacle 7- Cargo Climb- "Maneuver over the cargo nets".  Again... coordination could be a problem.  I did well on this one.  It was a really high climb though.  I could see how it could be pretty dangerous.
Obstacle 8- Deadman's Drop- "Climb to the top and over the unhandy hurdle".  I have no idea what this means.  Unhandy hurdle?  I don't get it.  I still don't know what an "Unhandy Hurdle" is.  It was basically a wall climb and you jumped off the other side.  Not too bad.
Obstacle 9- Giant Cliffhanger- "Make the trip to the top of the massive slope".  You climb up a hill with the assistance of a rope.  Doesn't sound too dangerous to me, but could be hard if I'm super tired at this point.  Although calling it a "slope" doesn't sound too menacing.  It was definitely just a "slope" and not so bad.
Obstacle 10- Muddy Mayhem- "Scramble beneath barbed wire as you near the finish".  Again with the barbed wire?  I can't say that I am very excited to crawl through the mud either.  I had to sign a liability waiver saying that I wouldn't dive head first into the mud.  Is this really a problem?  I think I might be able to control myself.  I did manage to control myself and not dive head first into the mud.  As far as the barbed wire goes, it was a lot more wire than it was barbs.  It was also a lot higher than necessary.  Mainly it was just there for mental purposes.
Obstacle 11- Warrior Roast- "Leap over the warrior fires".  You just have to jump over a few rows of flames as you cross the finish line.  That's no problem.  More mental than anything.  Unless I just fall over from exhaustion onto the burning coals.  That would be a problem.  I was so tired by this point that I didn't even care that there was fire there.  I just wanted to finish!

I had just a few goals for the run.  Mainly, I just wanted to finish.  That, I was able to do.  My other goal was to beat the guy in the chicken suit.  Which I totally did!  1/2 way through the race someone asked him how he was doing and he said "this is the worst idea I have ever had".  I would have been very sad if I was beat by a giant chicken.  I also beat the guy dressed as a beer and guy in the full suit and tie.  Go me.

Here are my results.  I finished number 2941 out of 7587.  I ran it in 49.19 minutes with a pace of 13.31 per mile.  So while no one is going to pick me up for the Olympics, it does sound cool to say that I ran it faster than 4646 other people.  Again I say, "go me".

When the race was finished I threw my shoes away and went to the line to get washed off.  They had this big water truck that you could walk by and have someone hose you off.  I totally got neglected in the line because the old water pervert with the hose was concentrating all of his attention on the group of 20 year olds behind me who were pretending they were in a music video and pressing their boobs together while screaming about how cold it was.  So lame.  So I got moderately cleaned off and finished enjoying the festivities.

Overall, it was an awesome experience and I really enjoyed the time with my brother.  I can't wait to get a group of guys together and do it again next year.  Although, I may aim to find a closer even to run as appose to driving all the way to Oklahoma.