11/4/2009

SNARKY IOWA/BCS ARTICLE REMOVED DUE TO LACK OF RUNNING GAME & NO STANZI :-(

But what a run by the Hawkeyes! 9-0 sure was a fun ride... now to upset those pesky Buckeyes and book my trip to the Rose Bowl? Gonna be tough, but it's our turn now. It's our time down here. Annie, you Goooonie!

9/8/2009

A HOLSTAD IS ON THE WAY!

It's official, we're having a baby! Heather is just past 13 weeks, and feeling great. She's due March 8. Seeing the two ultrasounds was a special feeling I can't describe, but unlike anything I've ever felt or expected. We just spent tonight building a changing table and dresser for the nursery, and it's starting to feel VERY real now. Thanks to everyone for all the support and excitement, we can't wait to join the quickly growing list of friends that are parents... from what everyone says, it's an amazing ride. We feel very lucky and blessed. Many more updates to come. I wonder if I should start pulling down the college years' photo albums?

9/1/2009

A little late, but I thought I should post to let everyone know that we had to put Potter to sleep last month. His tumor had grown rapidly, and he started to have a lot of pain and balance issues... it was a heartbreaking decision that we weren't ready to make for our six year old little guy. In the end it was clear that the suffering was only going to get worse, and it wasn't fair to him to put him through a painful process for what was a very aggressive tumor.

Seems like this has been a year of losses for our us. It's weird being home and not having him around to beg for food or be at the door to say hello every day. I learned we don't realize how deeply our pets are part of our family until we are faced with losing them. Potter was with us for almost as long as Heather and I have been together: he was an Iowa boy that moved with us out to San Diego and back. He was always so goofy, so happy just to chill next to us... and so different than any other dog. All he wanted was to be sitting next to Heather or wrestling me for his toys. Many many stuffed hedgehogs, Grinches and Big Gay Bunnies will be missing him here, just like we are.

7/28/2009

We had the honor of going to the Cubs game on Sunday with Bobbie and Dylan Harsch, to celebrate Dylan's first trip to Wrigley and remember our friend Zach. The Cubs allowed the family to have a small service the morning of the game, and now a part of Zach will live on around the left field 355' sign. And to no one's surpise Dylan came out 1-0. We also were able to step onto the field during batting practice and take a few pictures, you can see the rest in the photo gallery. I'll post more as they come to me.

If you haven't seen Bobbie's blog, I suggest you check it out: http://www.dzleeharsch.blogspot.com. She's awesome through and through, and Dylan is quite the little guy. He only cried once around Ike, so he has a little learning to do.

A huge thanks to Bobbie and the families for including us in the day, it was really special for us all. This was the first of an annual Cubs game tradition, but really will any of us ever step into that stadium and NOT be thinking about Zach? I'm amazed as time goes by how many small memories around Chicago cause him to pop into my head. Keep an eye on Soriano for us out there buddy.

7/23/2009

Thought I couldn't be geekier? wrong. You can now call me via Google Voice at (773) 809-HAWK. Or better yet, just enter your number in the widget below. Man this is nerd-tastic even by my standards. Give it a try!

6/23/2009

Just in case you hadn't thought your salary was pitiful enough in these tough times:

A-Rod Jacks Up The Price of "Fatigue"
Manager Joe Girardi said he plans to give A-Rod one complete game off a week until the All-Star break, even if the Yankees have an off-day. A-Rod hauls in $203,704.40 a game. He's already missed two contests due to 'fatigue' and he'll sit another three before this year's All-Star break. Those five games will cost the Yankees $1,018,522 -- or twice as much as A-Rod's opening day backup, Cody Ransom, will make all season.
- Jeff (from YardBarker)

That said, I'm flying down to Atlanta to catch a few Yankees games with my dad. Should be great, we haven't been to a game together in a long time. I wonder if I buy a beer, do I have to give my money to A-Rod directly or do they just tip him out after the game?

6/9/2009

Hi all. We've been worried about our little man, or as Ike calls him "The Wee Potter" the last few weeks. He grew a bump on his head two weeks ago, and is a little shaky on his legs every once in awhile. We did the whole vet rigamarole, and are waiting to see how he progresses. We're not 100% sure what it is, and don't want to put him through any traumatic operations unless he turns worse, as he's still a happy and playful little guy. We had to miss a few friend gatherings to keep an eye on him; hopefully everybody had a great time, and not too many inside jokes were born so that I'm still in the loop. I'm guessing it was mostly a lot of "doucher" this and "two inches" that?

For all you Facebookers out there, you'll now get the chance to pick a username. I'm going to do my best to lock down holstad. Here's a page holding the countdown until they're available. Keep an eye on it and jump in so your username doesn't look like cartoon swear words (2380(*#^&@) or "longsworth". Yeah I went there enjoy the burn.
FB Usernames

4/10/2009

"I JUST WANT TO BE A DOPER PERSON WHICH STARTS WITH ME NOT ALWAYS TELLING PEOPLE HOW DOPE I THINK I AM," – Kayne West.

I added a Silverlight "post board" window over on the right, feel free to post or say anything you want, it'll stick around a few days. -steve

3/25/2009

Whew. What a spring! BRIE AND WALLY ARE MARRIED! A good chunk of the Piet, Goodman & Kulawiak gang flew down to Miami for a weekend in the sun, then hopped on the Celebrity Century for a five day cruise. We stopped in Key West, where Brie and Wally pulled off a truly spectacular wedding. The white sand beach was incredible, and the view of the ocean was a perfect backdrop. Make sure you check out the picture gallery, but I think this was one of those epic events a camera struggles to capture. Word at the record labels is that the music was pretty solid as well. <g>

The reception was also in Key West at a neat little joint that, strangely, was the original headquarters of Pan-Am airlines, but felt like a nice southern home. It was also really close the Hemingway's home, which 0.07% of the guests cared about (my dad and the tour guide). The party quickly shifted over to Captain Tony's Saloon, which turned into a party that won't be forgotten, even if the details are a little fuzzy. Ask Brie about the special word she was yelling into the guitar player's microphone. All I can say is their sales must have jumped 20% that afternoon. The bar is famous, to Jimmy Buffett fans, as Capt. Tony was a good friend of Jimmy, and is mentioned in a few of his songs, like last Mango In Paris. A very, very cool place to spend an afternoon.

This was our first cruise, and we're hooked. We spent a lot of time relaxing in the sun, playing hoops fourteen stories above the water, and enjoying a *few* rum drinks. It also happened to be spring break, so the college kids, along with Brie & Wally's friends, kept the ship lively. We now definitely notice the "party differential" between the 25 and 30 year olds... I was waking up about the time Sly and Krause rolled back to their rooms. That said, I'm pretty sure Geno & Patti and Dad & Marcia ran circles around us as well. Hmm... Everyone is already talking about trying to recreate the magic next year, so if you're interested let me know. I'm a firm believer that anyone living in the midwest NEEDS a vacation planned in March just to get through the winters.

Congrats Kulawiaks! I'm going to see if "Brie-K Broiler" sticks as her new nickname... but early tests have not been strong. And what is the plural of Kulawiak? The Kulawi?

2/11/2009

Our beloved friend, Zach Harsch, passed away last Friday night due to an infection. Zach was one of my best college buddies, and a roommate my senior year. I've been dragging my feet on writing this, partly because I don't know how appropriate this is, but mostly because I am scared I can't come close to doing his life justice.

Zach was one of those guys that everyone loved, that always had a smile for you and something clever and interesting to say. He was the guy that when you talked to him on the phone, he made you feel like you were the most important person in the world. We could be debating any of the usual topics guys revolve around: baseball, music, movie quotes... it was always better when he was there. A lot of times he would just sit back and listen, smiling when he agreed, smirking when he didn't. When we said something stupid he had this way of looking up sideways at the ceiling and shaking his head; his universal gesture of "Oh God, spare me from this idiot", usually reserved for Cub haters.

What I'll miss about Zach the most is just what a unique, wonderful guy he was. He could be so quiet, or so passionate, or so quick to laugh about almost anything. He had a knack for wearing obsolete NBA jerseys, which to this day I'm not sure what the inspiration for that was. He would break out wedding dances that would literally cause the other dancers to stop and cheer him on. But always, always, I felt the caring and love that he had for his friends. He always seemed so happy just to be in the moment.

At the memorial services we were amazed by the brave seventh graders that stood in front of a few hundred people and told about what a caring teacher and friend he had become to all of them. The other teachers, classmates, family members and friends that filled two hours with funny, sad & memorable stories of times they spent with Zach reminded us all just how many lives he touched. We always knew the kid was special, but to see the magnitude of how positively the world was affected by him was breathtaking. Our good friend Nick wrote and read a poem that night, it sums up our thoughts much more eloquently than I can here tonight.

I could go on and on with tiny examples that made Zach Zach. On paper they seem like small, silly stories. In my heart I know they are the million little patches that come together to define a true friend. Our thoughts and prayers are with Zach's family, his amazing wife Bobbie and the little guy on the way.

We love you and miss you buddy.

1/27/2009

Wow, you thought I was a geek before: I recorded a podcast for The Thirsty Developer last week, you can listen here. We spent about thirty minutes discussing Silverlight, the technology I spend most of my time working with these days. It's all based around the Twitterlight app I wrote a few months back. If you're a Twitter user, check it out. My podcast is also available on iTunes (I've always wanted to say that).

Thanks for listening Grandma.

1/18/2009

Happy New Year Gang! So, Big D took the bluetooth headseat out of his ear long enough to subtly hint that I was due for an update. Always happy to oblige this week's only visitor: We have six new photo albums including the epic Holstad Christmas, New Year's at Lake Geneva and the Piet/Budde Christmas parties. THE Russ Suva updated his site, and let's all welcome the Navarro family to the rough and tumble world of blogging, with the launch of TheNavarroHouse.com blog. Nice work! And Dwight, I'll add your link once you realize that Facebook is holding back your potential nerdocity.

Tonight's Main Event: Heather vs. Gilly Dance Off

So we all know my baby has some wicked (and very unique) dance moves. Heather long ago vanquished Elaine from Seinfeld, but a new challenger has stepped onto the floor. Last night's SNL introduced Gilly, a goofy little elementary school bully. Take a look at the video and tell me that this dance routine doesn't smack of my wife's exotic moves: