I didn't quit blogging! I promise! Four Words: "Moving With a Baby"

So while my time is presently limited I will call this my "I promise I didn't quit blogging" blog.  I'll just fill you in on the goings-on.  A lot of McKinnians may have noticed the real estate market is hot.  In a matter of 2 total weeks we jumped at the opportunity to sell our West McKinney home and buy another one closer to all the action further east.  Most people would not take on moving house with a 4 1/2 month old baby....except us.  It was that fine line between foolish, and smart for jumping at the opportunity to take advantage of a super hot real estate market before all the Toyota folks get here from California.  We literally were probably 72 hours away from signing an apartment lease and my lovely wife did it again.  She found the perfect house, in a quiet neighborhood with just the right amount of space and features.  It was surprisingly hard to say goodbye to the old one but we are slowly but surely, as time allows, settling in to the new one unpacking a couple of boxes at a time and working our way out of survival mode.

This post is going to be a little bit different from my usual writings because it is admittedly rushed.  It is a shameless plug of local businesses combined with lessons learned, and a promise that I did not quit.

10 THINGS:
#1 Milestone Electric really do fix it in a flash- just like the jingle that gets stapled deep into your head during NBC5 commercial breaks in the morning.  We had some screwy electrical issues within the first day of moving in and problems were solved quickly.  Electrician- true expert and trustworthy individual.  Customer Service reps- Second to none.

#2 Fence companies love to talk nasty about one another when getting bids.  Dang! Be nice guys, keep it professional.

#3 Choose your movers wisely and breathe down their neck- yes they do this every day, but they still haven't learned their lesson about not grabbing washers and dryers by the knobs.

#4 Vee's Appliance Repair- Great experience.  On time, reliable, and actually fixes the problem in a timely manner.  He actually cares about his customers and put my daughter's needs ahead of his own.  Clean dry clothes for my baby and fast, adequate solutions.

#5 Albertson's is NOT your store. It is a dated, non-innovative cesspool of rotting produce, processed chemically enhanced rubbish, and the awful idea of "variety pack" combinations of meat.  Sorry I do not want moldy fruit or chicken juice in my 4 days past the sell by date ground beef.  I know I said I would not speak negatively on this blog, but I'm rebelling today.  Once you have experienced McKinney Farmers Market, Sprouts, Urban Acres or Trader Joe's....everything else sorta sucks.

#6 Trader Joe's is awesome.  Nice to have one nearby, and an Urban Acres share pickup down the street twice a month.

#7 Who would have thought that living further away from work actually makes for a quicker commute in the morning and evening.  It's achievable when you don't live 7 miles from any major highway and your nearest major highway is now one quarter of a mile away.  Toll bill goes up, but time spent in car angry about morning routine, 9 school zones, and terrible traffic ALL goes down and away. 


#9 Not having an HOA now is awesome.  It is nice not to spend $480 per year anymore to be menaced and sent nastgrams about the single weed that grew in my yard that morning while I was at work.

#10 Moving into a "project house" really makes me want to go to Lowe's and play.  Wife has the same bug.
"OMG! A gutter extension piece.  Sweetie, I need a gutter extension piece! And tacks!" 

Weathering the Occasional Life Storm: Where's Your Happy Place?

Photo Credit SNUG ON THE SQUARE - Coffee House and Good Eats Cafe McKinney, TX

 I like to think of myself as a positive person, at least a realistic 85% of the time.  I can only count on one hand the people that see me when I'm not having the best of days, when I'm truly in a horrid mood, things are not working in my favor, and I'm not thinking rationally.  God Bless the people I work with who see my 15%, and in addition to being my business associates, end up being part psychologist, part some sort of counselor or life coach.  What can I say? That's how it goes in business sometimes, and I guess you could say I'm one of the "wound up like an 8 day clock" types who has that passion for my industry and success; and it probably translates to others as some really boisterous B+ off Broadway Musical or theatrical spectacle. The good days are excellent and bad days are just every kind of not awesome imaginable and I'd be lying if I said I was totally tolerable during those lulls. Sometimes I bring it home on my shoulders and my lovely wife takes the brunt of  this occasional storm cloud, and God Bless her the most.

I would also be lying if I told you that I'm capable of always having 100% positive subject matter.  But here is the good news, I'm going to find some way to turn it back around and make it that way.

For those of you who are fans of FRIENDS, prime time past or like myself, king of the re-runs, I can only think of Alec Baldwin's guest appearance as Phoebe's boyfriend, Parker, who is physically and mentally incapable of being negative or unhappy.  It's unnatural, comical, and towards the end of it, a little annoying.  After a while all I could think was 'Shut up dude! There is nothing interesting about tail lights or cab rides in traffic!'

If I've lost you, watch the clip.
FRIENDS "The One In Massapequa" S08E18 © Warner Bros. Television 1994-2004

If you couldn't tell by now, it's not my favorite week, but I'm writing this, and it's making me feel better.  That's got to count for something, right?  It's my happy place. Stack it with a late morning or an hour before closing, 'zone out on the couch time' at Snug on the Square. Quite frankly, I need to do this more often because it's therapeutic.  At work, I also walk a lap or two around the office complex pond.  That works exceptionally well when I face the temptation of regrettable actions or words. I get fresh air, inspiration, and clarity.  If your office complex has one of these, grab a bottled water from your office fridge and take a lap.  It may do you some good, as I've recently found that it's beneficial for me.

The office pond.  If your workplace has one, spend time there.

This brings me to my point and question.  You don't have to be a Parker.  Most people are not Parker.  We will all inevitably have many crappy days and we will experience negative. 

So I ask you this. Where is your happy place?  That one place where you can decompress, escape the negative, take your mind off a stressful, wretched day, and get clarity and perspective?

I want to hear from you!

-DAN+McKINNEYTX-

Yours Truly, Dan+McKinneyTX @ Elm Fork Shooting Sports