Ohana Trosper ~ Marque, Sarah and Leah: August 2009

Monday, August 31, 2009

Could It Be?!

Could it be? Is it possible? Nah! Not me!

Lately, I have been restless and I can't help but wonder...."Is this a mid-life crisis?!" If it is, I can see why so many guys make really lame decisions when they feel this way. Luckily for me, I am too smart, too fat and have it too good!

What I mean is, I am smart enough to realize what is going on in this pea-sized brain of mine and am wise enough to know that years of right living can be spent away with one poor decision. What I mean is, that I am too fat and unhealthy to do anything rash and stupid anyway. What I mean is, I have a phenomenal wife, a little angel of a daughter, a fantastic home and neighborhood and a great job! Why would I screw that up?!

None the less, I am restless. I feel like I want to travel! Start a business! Serve others! Build a raised planter! What to do? What to do? I guess I will start with building a raised planter. I have no experience in this, but luckily I was going for a somewhat rustic look anyway. It ended up being a fun project and I am not entirely done either. I have left over rock, soil and I need to plant more bushes and ground cover. For now, here is my progress. Sorry I don't have any before shots. I am happy with the outcome and have decided that I am going to do this with all the planters that currently have curbing. The rock is Colorado Red Sand Stone and I used about 1 ton which cost about $300. I stacked it and used some landscape block adhesive which cost me about $25. I used Replenish compost which is the best stuff in the world. It never fades. That ran me about $70. The most expensive part was my time. It took about 7 hours at $125 an hour. Not bad pay for an amateur, eh? I negotiated with the home owner for a pretty penny.

I plan on putting more bushes to hide the small pad behind that I use for the trashcans and some storage.

It still needs flowers, ground cover and what not. But not too bad as it is, eh?

Of course what would a post from me be without a few token pics of my little Coqui?!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Kuckoo! Kuckoo! Kuckoo!

Am I taking crazy pills here, or what?! Read the next paragraph as taken directly from the White House today and tell me if I am the only one who is having a hard time understanding.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a chilling forecast, the White House is predicting a 10-year federal deficit of $9 trillion -- more than the sum of all previous deficits since America's founding. And it says by the next decade's end the national debt will equal three-quarters of the entire U.S. economy.

Now, before I put my foot in my mouth, (notice, I still plan on doing it), I admit I am not an economist, but I am really confused how going 9 trillion in debt, "more than the sum of all previous deficits", will help us!? Should I implement this plan? Should I go get a loan for 3/4's of my annual income? Who will give it to me? I will do it! I am crazy like that!

Could this possibly be the work of a hidden agenda? Honestly, I have avoided the conspiracy theorists regarding our Commander in Chief. I initially thought we should support him and pray that he will do what is right for the country. Lately, truthfully, I have quickly come under the opinion that he has an agenda that he is pushing from every angle and with such force that I believe in the long run, our country will be weakened by it. With that said, I never wish to offend and I typically avoid discussions of religion and politics so as to not offend, but I have felt this so strongly lately. If I have offended, please forgive. In two weeks, my mind will be swept away with thoughts of college football and my comments will only offend UCLA Bruins, leaving the rest at peace.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

2 Weeks, 2 Days and 2 Hours

But who's counting?! I am. In my efforts to stay sane until the college football season begins, I surfed around a bit on Pete Carroll's website. I like this guy. He has the ability to inspire greatness in his players and through constant competition is able to raise the expectations and thus the results of those he coaches. Of course, at some point, some may argue it gets easier due to the talent he recruits due to his successes, but that in and of itself presents it's own troubles. None the less, I found this poem he wrote and thought I would share it. It is titled, "Always Compete". I love his coaching and I love his philosophies, but he apparently is no Longfellow.

ALWAYS COMPETE...by Pete Carroll

Always Compete....
As you progress through your sporting life...
Always Compete.
If you want to go for it...
Always Compete.
You're gonna have to make Choices in Life and those choices need to be Conscious Decisions.
There's only one person in Control here and that person is You...
You hold All the cards. You are the Master of You. It's time to admit it...
You have always known this. So if you're ready, act on it...
Always Compete.
Don't you dare try to be too Cool, don't you dare be afraid of Life,
just "Dare to be Great," and Let it Rip.
Always be Humble, Always be Kind, Always be Respectful...
Always Compete!
Everything you do counts and screams who You are...there is no hiding from You.
Act as if the Whole World will know who you are...
Always Compete.
Be True to Yourself and Let Nothing hold You back.
Compete to be the Greatest You and that will Always be enough and that will be a Lifetime!
Always Compete.

Now that this entry is complete, there is only 2 Weeks, 2 Days, 1 Hour and 50 Minutes...but who is counting.
Fight On and Always Compete.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Evolution of crawling

OK. The proud mom in me couldn't stop from doing one more post. Leah has just learned to crawl in the last couple weeks. I know that 10 months is probably average to begin crawling, but I was getting anxious for her make this milestone. Everyone told me I should just enjoy the fact that she couldn't get into too much trouble. Mobility has certainly not been a problem for Leah. She began rolling over at 3 weeks and until recently used that as her mode of transportation.

Rolling turned into pulling herself with her arms.

Aug. 5th she began using one leg. I was able to catch that first one on video.

The next day Aug. 6th she used both legs and became an official crawler. This video is from this morning. Just 2 weeks later she is such a pro and likes to crawl to chairs and the banister to pull herself up.

I get sad when I think how fast our time with Leah has gone. Her 1st birthday is getting closer and that just amazes me. Seeing her progress distracts me from the fact that my little baby won't be an infant for much longer. I just love every day I get to spend with Leah. She makes me laugh all the time. Like when she discovered she can move the bottom of her play pen. I could probably post things all day long, but I supposed there's more to life than blogging. Off to play with my angel!

More California

I noticed marque didn't post our day at Sea World, so I thought I'd give him a break from posting. We knew Leah would love her day at Sea World with her Auntie Samantha and cousins Hailey and Madyson.

The girls enjoying the seal show

It was so fun to see Leah use her new pointing skills

Leah loves animals and was excited to see the fish.

Mady ready to see the 4D Elmo show.

The star fish were so cool to see up close. Although we needed catlike reflexes to keep Leah from biting into one. One of my favorite exhibits was the Mana Reys. I didn't get any pics of them, but I was so cool to touch one. They are so slippery and graceful.

Nuh-nuh. Nuh-nuh. Jaws better watch out for Leah.

The view from our hotel room in San Diego.

Dad and Leah watching the boats.

Sea World, Sun, Sand and the slide. What fun we had!

Leah is definitely relaxed after her vacation. Stay classy San Diego!

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Scott Trosper!!!

Here are the pics taken from my camera and Sarah's of Scott and Cynthia's wedding. They are not in order, but honestly....I am just too lazy to rearrange them.