Justin’s blog

I hope everyone had safe and happy Independence Day celebration and weekend. I know we did.

We spent Friday with some family friends, grilling and hanging out by the pool. Kaylee pretty much spent the whole day outside. That little girl sures loves to run around, back and forth, here, there and everywhere. She also got to swim some. After spending a week at home alone with her mom and me, we could tell she was happy to get out around other people.

Other than that, not much has been going on. Kaylee was "sick" last week with Hand Foot and Mouth so Danielle and I stayed home with her all week. It was really nice to spend that much time with Kaylee doing fun things. It would have been nicer if we didn't have to worry about work.

Sunday was Father's day and it is was awesome! Danielle and Kaylee got me the coolest thing ever, a Garmin Forerunner 205. I'm training for the Wichita Marathon this October and it will come in handy. I always wonder how well I am training when I run outdoors and if my times really are what I think they are. This will make a big difference. I woke up early went for a run with it, it is nice to have immediate feedback.

We went to church like usual. Danielle sang with the band and I helped serve communion. Afterwards we went to my dad's house for lunch and to hang out for a while. Then we went home so Kaylee could take a nap.

Once Kaylee woke up we went to one of our favorite restaurants for a delicious Mexican dinner. Mmm, carnitas. Kaylee really enjoys chicken enchiladas, which is a good thing because Danielle and I both really enjoy Mexican food.

After dinner, we all went to the park to enjoy the beautiful weather. As usual, the little girl had a great time watching the ducks, climbing up and down the steps, swinging and climbing all over everything she could. Surprising this time she wasn't upset when we said it was time to go home. Most days, she screams and doesn't want to go. Sunday night she actually cooperated. It was a nice change.

People have lost their minds. Lately when I read or watch the news, I am amazed at how messed up people are these days.

TURLOCK, California (AP) -- Police killed a 27-year-old man as he kicked, punched and stomped a toddler to death despite other people's attempts to stop him on a dark, country road, authorities said.

Link to story on CNN

What do you daydream about? Is it something far-fetched, or something that might actually happen?
Submitted by lost_in_eternity2207.

When I daydream, I mostly think about how I would my family's life to be. Nothing crazy. A nice house in the countryside with about 5-10 acres of land, all of our bills paid off except maybe our home, with plenty of free time to spend with the family, the ability to do what we want and pursue our interests without worrying about the things people typical worry about.

I always think how nice it would be to get up in the morning and not think about having to go to work. I could wake up, go running, do some reading, work in the garden, build things and work on projects that interest me. I'd like to learn more about electronics and making things you find in Make and on Instructables. I miss the old RadioShack.

It's weird. After almost two years of spending my work days at another organization's office, I will be back in the office officially. Not just showing up to pick something up or drop something off or attend a meeting.

Today I completed another certification on my path to being a security professional. Over my lunch hour I passed the Cisco 642-544: Implementing Cisco Security Monitoring, Analysis and Response System earning me the title of Cisco Certified Security Professional.

I basically studied non-stop from August last year until yesterday evening. I think I will take a break for a couple of weeks now and then either begin working towards my Cisco Certified Networking Professional or upgrading my MCSA Messaging to whatever is the most current and switch it over to a security focus.

Yesterday when I got home from work there was an envelope from the city waiting for me. Inside was a subpoena to attend the trial of the guy who broke into our house last summer.

It's a surprise because we under the impression they didn't have enough evidence to prosecute him even after they picked him up with my class ring and couple of other pieces of jewelery. I wrote to the detective last night and hope that he can tell me what is going on. Maybe they recovered some more of our property and haven't told us about it yet.

Little Kaylee has finally learned to say "No." This is not good. I'll ask her something, she says no and then turns and runs away. Although I think it is cute the way she does it, we need to find a new way to discourage the things we don't want her doing. How do you say no without actually saying "No?"