Home Improvement

Hi,

So today I am going to show you how to up the resale value of your house by almost $20!

Sometimes when I am running late, I will be searching the house for my car keys...and eventually, this is where I find them...
















So Steph and I decided enough! We are going to get something that holds our keys so we always know where they are. This is a DIY, so I hope you can follow along. First you have to go to the store and buy something that holds keys. After completing that task you need to pull out every tool that you THINK you will need. This will help save you a few precious seconds so you don't have to keep walking back and forth to the garage.








See needed tools to the left.













Now, find a wall to hang it on BAM!








The biggest challenge you will come up against is drilling into the drywall when there is no stud behind it. Just in case you were curious, and I hope you know this, stud is another word for 2X4...lumber. You have to make sure to grab a few of those plastic wall anchors or else your screw will just go right through the drywall.

Then, like a true man of the house, just start drilling and putting things together without measuring or anything. It will all work out in the end.

YAY!







Your home instantly becomes more livable.














Conor

My Routine

Hi,

I might have written about this before but for the story's' sake I am going to bring it up again. For as long as I can remember, I have gotten up in the morning, started the coffee (black) and wandered outside to retrieve the paper. I come back in and make myself some cereal or other breakfast item and sit down to read. Usually right after I finish the Sports Section, the coffee beeps and I put away the cereal I've already eaten and pour myself a cup of coffee to read the rest of the paper. I sip away as I read some of my favorites: Get Fuzzy; Sherman's Lagoon; and more recently, Baby Blues. So that was it, that's what I did.

Now that we have The Bo, I figured I would just do everything with a kid in my hand. For the first few months, not impossible. It was warm outside so I could carry him with me as I strolled to the driveway, and he would mostly be still and sleepy so I could kind of just one hand everything while I made the coffee, cereal etc.

FAST FORWARD to NOW:


Let's start from the beginning. When he wakes up now, he is WIDE awake, smiling, hungry, noisy and in need of a diaper change. After the diaper change I pick him up and head to the family room.
"Man, I need to get the paper." I think to myself as I stare at the frost on my car.
"Can't take the kid outside or he'll be cold." I realize.
"Quick! Strap him in his high chair and run outside as fast as you can before he realizes you aren't in front of him with a bottle of formula!" I decide.
So this is what I do. I run back into the house panting just in time to catch his eye so he knows I'm in the room. Before I can make my coffee, I have to make a bottle for Noah, no problem there. Luckily the kiddo can hold his own bottle so while he is polishing off his first 4 ounces, I get a chance to get my coffee and cereal. "Ahhh, I have this under control." I say.

Now comes the fun. Once he finishes his food he wants to hang out, and who wouldn't? He sits on my lap as I try and read the paper.

*Note, the coffee cup is in the kitchen still because like I said...he grabs things.

It all comes down to this, I think The Contra Costa Times is Noah's favorite thing in the world. They crunch, they make noise, and he can put the paper in his mouth and gum it to death. See below...


I usually end up giving him a section of the paper that I don't read(Classifieds,) and let him go to town while I read the other sections. Once he's calmed down a little I can sit him back in his chair or put him back down for a cat nap while I drink my coffee and keep reading.

Ahh needless to say, my morning routine has been compromised, but hey, I couldn't be happier about it.

Conor

Argentina

Hi,

So I was looking through some old photos tonight and I found a few from 2 years ago that I thought were pretty good. Every year our family takes a big trip somewhere during the holidays. This way, no one has to worry about presents and we all get a chance to be together. Also, the Matriarch of the fam, Marie Hetty Dunn, makes the decisions around here. She says go somewhere fun for the holidays, we go. I wasn't able to make the trip this year as the family went to Africa and it is a little tough to bring a 5 month on a trip like that. I was fine with it though because I got to hang with my in-laws and we had a great time.

Without further ado, here are a few that I really liked...









Iguazu Falls at the Brazil/Argentina Border










Grandma looks happy, my cousin Ali is yelling about something and there is a rainbow. THIS PICTURE HAS EVERYTHING.










The whole happy traveling family.










It's like a poster right? I mean, I should probably print this out, sign my name on it, and sell it to Argentina Tourism for a million dollars.










I couldn't tell you why, but this is one of my favorite pictures ever. I mean, it's some grass and water but for some reason...I stinkin' love it.










I took quite a few pics in Argentina and these were just a sampling. I figure the best way to help you delve into my crazy world is to show you evidence that it's real. That's all for now. The full album is on my facebook page which you can find HERE

Conor

Tinkering

Hi,

I am messing around with the design of my blog. I decided that I didn't like the all black background. I am trying to figure out a way to incorporate a few things that I like but I have to take some time to work with some design programs. The current design is not what I will be using but I figured it was a good subtitute for now because it is a little brighter. This is the start of me getting more commited to this blog. THIS TIME I'M SERIOUS...maybe.


Conor

The Round Table

Hi,

So the other day I found myself at a "Coaches Round Table" at Crystal Springs Uplands High School in Hillsborough, CA. It was a group of running nerds, me included, that got together to talk about running for 6 hours. Sounds like fun right? RIGHT!

Let me start by saying that have never been a fan of classes or school or any sort of lecture. Sorry, that's probably an understatement, I loathe all of that stuff. I can make it about 15 min, before I get antsy and want to move around and get out of Dodge. I have been that way for as long as I can remember and it's one of the reasons I will never go back to school for any sort of gradaute degree. Three cheers for the people that are able to do that stuff but high fives for everyone else like me who just want to work and never read a text book again. Now that I've set you up for a rant about how bored I was, guess what? I enjoyed myself. HOLY CRAP! I mean hey, it wasn't exactly the most thrilling experience of my life but I found myself very interested in what other coaches had to say. Here's a breakdown of what we know...

- Running is hard.
- Sometimes you get sore.
- Sometimes High School Cross Country runners whine.
- Sometimes they whine non-stop.
- Every once in a while when you are really frustrated with a kid or a practice, a breakthrough workout or happy kid can come along to remind you why you love the sport.
- Cross Country involves teamwork, sacrifice, sweat, tears, chaffing, more tears, body glide, smiles, bruised egos, inflated egos, throwing up, throwing down, falling down, getting up, mud, dirt, and perseverance.

Now that we've gone over what we know. Here's what we don't know.

- Anything


That pretty much sums it up. There are so many schools of thought and so many different ways to coach a kid, that it's impossible to know everything there is to know. I'd say I know a fair bit about running but to put it in terms we all understand...

My running knowledge is to "The Cyanobacteria Nostoc" as the amount of running knowledge available is to "The soil that it lives in."

That made sense right? Just kidding. Let's just say that I know a small percentage point of everything there is to know.

Either way, the point of this whole disjointed post is that I walked in to a discussion of ideas with other coaches and was able to walk away with a few tidbits that I could store away and implement the next time around. A new season is always around the corner and I am learning that one of the fun aspects of the job as a coach, is learning new techniques and trying them out. They aren't always going to work of course, but when they do, it's pretty darn rewarding.

If you are a fan of Northern California running, a blog I frequent most days is
Cross Country Express

Conor