July 31... Another Again

My Father in Law owns about 500+ acres of crawfish ponds in the area, lately I've been helping him restock the ponds with my brother in law Luciano. This is what the rice did to my arms during the process. Most unpleasant, I had a very busy Saturday that day.

Cruising the Basin

My good friend and cousin in law Blake Durand, also known as Deadly Durand, Blake "Mangrove Killer" Durand and Captain Durand, took me on my very first trip in the Basin on July 31. Had a freakin blast.

Introspective

I went out for a run this morning at Lake Fausse Pointe. Accompanied by my brother in law Luke Capritto, I had great conversation and company for the drive there and back (which was much needed there, we left Lafayette at 4:55) On the run (I was solo for this part, he is 14) I had loads of time to think, and while thinking these words of Bruce Lee came to mind, instead of summarizing them I saw fit to type them word for word as I feel it appeals to my introspective quite accurately as of late: "I am learning to understand rather than immediately judge or to be judged. I cannot blindly follow the crowd and accept their approach. I will not allow myself to indulge in the usual manipulating game of role creation. Fortunately for me, my self-knowledge has transcended that and I have come to understand that life is best to be lived and not to be conceptualized. I am happy because I am growing daily and I am honestly not knowing where the limit lies. To be certain, every day there can be a revelation or a new discovery. I treasure the memory of the past misfortunes. It has added more to my bank of fortitude."


PS - I am trying to send the pics of the run to my blog but I am running in to some difficulties.

Conversation

Eden: Daddy!?
Me: Yes ma'am?
Eden: Go to sleep daddy!!
Me: I'm not ready to go to bed, I'm reading princess.
Eden: Daddy!?!?!
Me: Pardon?
Eden: Wait... what? Daddy go to sleep so I can beat you up!

Kung Fu Eden

Yesterday at lunch my gregarious daughter had a sparring competition with her imaginary friend Sadie, this what I video'd. 

RedStar $500 Gift Card

Original Shipment

Ashley's Glasses (My Favorite)

My Glasses (Second Favorite)

Running Glasses

Don't really like how wide they are!

Fit Great, but are too small overall, not my favorite, but still nice for running.

Love 'em

Yes, you read that headline correctly! I couldn't believe it. In my last issue of Runner's World Magazine I flipped to a page that said $500 Gift Card from RedStar WorldWear. RedStar is a new company line trying to make a path for themselves here in America. I read the advert in the magazine and detached the credit card inside. I read all the instructions and looked diligently for fine print (I didn't find any). So, without further ado, I entered the website in to my search browser and perused the site for about 1 hr, learning and reading. I eventually settled on 5 pair of glasses, for me and Ashley, upon check out I received a pop stating that because I used my gift card for glasses only, I was entitled to a free watch of my choice (the only offered 2 at that time so it was easy). I placed the order, received my confirmation email, (figured it was all a ploy but decided to play along) and completely forgot about it... until yesterday.

I went to check the mail at my parents house, saw a unusually large box with my name on it. Thinking I had purchased something on eBay and forgot about it, I wasn't really overly excited. I opened the packaged and noticed all of the glasses I had ordered some time ago (the initial order was placed 7/5/2011). I was elated, very impressed that these people were actually serious! At the bottom of my invoice I was placed in a market study analysis program, I was to write a review of the glasses over the next 3 months and email all the goods and bads of my RedStar experience... so far so good! I don't like all of the glasses, but the ones I do like I love and the watch is pretty awesome, not worth the $180 price tag accompanied with it, but a nice watch nonetheless. 

The End!

First Dr. Appointment

Aria has her first Dr appointment today, I'm sitting at the hospital now in the waiting room. Appointment was for 10:45, I have money saying it'll be 12:30 before we leave here. No worries, Rubys for lunch then Target for goodies for the kids (it's still weird for me to say "kids"). At any rate I suppose this beats working.

Her First Smile

Actually, she has gas, but its a smile to us.

Funny Story/Favorite Video

The video above features a young woman named Jenny Kirk, Jenny has been a long time friend of my wife. Jenny stopped in that Friday to say hello while on her way to work. When she walked in, Ashley went in to full blown labor, in fact, it was so fast, Jenny had the pleasure of video taping the birth, it was her first ever witness to a child birth. She had to call in and explain while she wasn't coming in. Imagine that conversation. It was pretty funny, I could hear her boss on the other line screaming in excitement. I think I will use that excuse the next time I don't want to go to work...  Thank you Jenny and Margie for witnessing the miracle of my daughters entrance to this world.

Jenny and Margie were the only two people in the room when Aria started crowning, it happened within minutes, literally. This was also Margie's first delivery experience, she too just popped in to check on Ashley. At 3:30 I sent everyone home thinking it would be hours before the delivery bc she was only 3 cm dilated at that time. Well at 5:15 we were in the dance, at 5:19 we started pushing, at 5:29 we had a baby.

Photobucket Photos & Videos Here

Finally Home

We are finally home, safe and sound! The entire weekend was an absolute rout I might say. We had a blast from start to finish. I was introduced to a new card game called Apples to Apples, if you haven't played I recommend at least one night of fun with this game, great stuff. HUGE HUGE thanks to Mike McMinn and Margie Deblanc for battling the late nights with me and Ashley, hanging around and pretending that they like us enough to sacrifice sleep for us. Special thanks to my Mom and Dad for keeping Eden for the time we spent in the hospital, that was pretty awesome, we definitely couldn't have done it without them. We had tremendous support from friends and family both near and far. It is always a delight to have such kind words bestowed on my family. I have posted here for your viewing pleasure some pics and vids from around the hospital  some you've seen, some you haven't. So enjoy, and thanks again for everyone who supported us. The videos are G rated, no birthing videos posted... Ashley made me take them off!

PS - Eden is going to be an amazing big sister. She is soooo excited about her little sister, when we first told her she was born she ran around the waiting room screaming, "I'M SO PROUD OF MY LIL STISTER (not a typo) SHE'S SO PRECIOUS AND CUTE!!!!!!" It was hilarious. That lasted about 2 minutes btw. I look forward to the future with these two.

Aria Eve Sharlow

<p>What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Well the truth is, we struggled picking a name for Aria, we had many names to choose from but it wasn't until we saw her that we really knew what we were dealing with. Funny story, we actually narrowed the selection by practicing what the girls names sounded like when we had to fuss at them later on in life. Yep, that's parenting... lol. At any rate, Aria is a very strong Italian name that presented a slight level of exotic origin but was still classic enough to be nostalgic, I think. Well whatever the case we liked it, we loved it. Eve, well that just flowed all to naturally to pass up. If I need to explain Sharlow please stop reading and exit this page. Our future has just been expanded beyond what we can possibly imagine. I'm well excited to undertake this responsibility as husband, father and daddy. Here we go!

More From Delivery

Sleeping Beauty

But this one wakes for food. She slept about 6 hrs last night and only woke up once to eat.

The New Edition

Playing with names still

More more

Here She Is

7 lbs. 13 oz. Updates to come. We are at women's and children's currently in room LDR 3. Moving soon I'll notify accordingly.

Joseph Leday

Louisiana State Board of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics Certificate of Death...

Pictured above is a death certificate from October 13, 1923. The deceased is a man named Joseph Leday (as the title of this post suggests). Joseph Leday was/is my great great Uncle. But all that is neither here nor there. The interesting, or for me the cool part of this is the cause of death (pictured in the second photo). It may be difficult to read so I will translate:


     "Fracture of the skull (Homicidal) strike on frontal bone, with a post by another negro."


Joseph was 24 years old and was born in 1899. My dad is in possession of this certificate and brought it to my attention today. I found the articulation and verbiage used most interesting as I am certain is was colloquial to that time frame. It is quite amazing how times have changed.

Scar Crow... Tiger Edition

Yes, what you see in this picture is a stuffed tiger tied to a tree, and if you're really savvy then you will have also noticed that the tree is a fig tree. (back story time). About 1 week ago my dad walked to his garden and noticed his illustrious fig tree had sprouted approximately 400+ figs, delighted he relished the moment and saw fit to pick them on the next day. When he approached the tree the following day he saw a handful of black crows flying away from the tree, untroubled by the sight he proceeded and finally realized he only had 4 figs left, yes 4. The crows had a feast at my dads expense. With only 4 figs left, and desire to preserve them, he grabbed a stuffed Tiger from one of the spare bedrooms in the house and tied the tiger to the tree. I think it fair to note that it has been a week and those 4 figs are still there. Damn crows!

Remember the Post about the Kid Going to West Point

I said in that post that I had been knowing the family for quite some time, I found this photo recently of Brennan when he was 2 being held by my grandmother, this is after a radiation treatment at St. Jude's Hospital. He certainly doesn't look like a kid with many problems in life... lol.

Then Die!

My good friend and 1/2 Marathon Running Partner, and soon to be 2011 Tough Mudder Finisher, Jeremy Zenon, posted a blog site on twitter. I clicked the link and read something I had never really considered to be a aspect of my mentality, but after reading it I was immediately inspired. Taky Kimura was a student of Bruce Lee and trained with him every day, this is a story from Taky Kimura in an interview some time ago:
“Bruce had me up to three miles a day, really at a good pace. We’d run the three miles in twenty-one or twenty-two minutes. Just under eight minutes a mile [Note: when running on his own in 1968, Lee would get his time down to six-and-a half minutes per mile]. So this morning he said to me “We’re going to go five.” I said, “Bruce, I can’t go five. I’m a helluva lot older than you are, and I can’t do five.” He said, “When we get to three, we’ll shift gears and it’s only two more and you’ll do it.” I said “Okay, hell, I’ll go for it.” So we get to three, we go into the fourth mile and I’m okay for three or four minutes, and then I really begin to give out. I’m tired, my heart’s pounding, I can’t go any more and so I say to him, “Bruce if I run any more,” –and we’re still running-”if I run any more I’m liable to have a heart attack and die.” He said, “Then die.” It made me so mad that I went the full five miles. Afterward I went to the shower and then I wanted to talk to him about it. I said, you know, “Why did you say that?” He said, “Because you might as well be dead. Seriously, if you always put limits on what you can do, physical or anything else, it’ll spread over into the rest of your life. It’ll spread into your work, into your morality, into your entire being. There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level.”

Last Night As it Stands Today

Okay, so last night (better associated with this morning, really early) was one for the memory books. My little angel woke up at 1 a.m. releasing the food from the night before all over her sheets and pajamas. We didn't realize this until we walked in to the room and the aroma hit us like a Mike Tyson when he hit Zach Galifianakis in "The Hangover". I cuddled my baby for about 20 minutes before I was able to get her in to the bathroom, the entire time I was 6" away from the mess at hand. Very, very tough to stomach and maintain super daddy status but I did. Within the next 30 minutes I had acquired some coke, sprite and crackers from a local grocery store and Eden was feeling like a champ. We washed and sanitized (Ashley washed and sanitized) the room and all the sheets and Eden got to sleep in her Hello Kitty sleeping bag, she was elated, not to mention she was able to consume the one product we withhold from her most diligently... coke. I found myself, hours later, tossing and turning, in a slight bit of pain and discomfort all the while a bit discombobulated. I realized that I may have been contracting whatever my daughter had. Ah well, I'm tough I thought... I thought. I moved the sofa around 3 a.m. Tried to sleep but that task proved too difficult. I remember the clock said 4:26 and the next thing I knew I was face down on the bathroom floor drenched in sweat and freezing cold, it was 5:30. I had never felt so miserable in my life, I contemplated going to the hospital, I thought I certainly needed an I.V. from all of the fluids I had lost (and yes I am sparing details). It was approximately 6:00 when I recovered from the floor, I think now that some of my time down was selfish as the floor felt absolutely amazing and I saw fit to enjoy my time uninterrupted by ailments for the time being. I returned to the sofa, as I did not want to bother my sleeping wife and honestly started to feel a little better, then I tried to turn on my side, that's when I made the phone call to work, it wasn't going to happen today. I am big on listening to my body, but I am also big on not getting backed up at the office. I have an amazing colleague that is taking care of my work today, I owe him big. I don't even know if he knows I have a blog, but I am still indebted to him until further notice. I am moving around now, I arose from the dead at 9:30, Eden slept till 11:30 (lucky) and now I'm spending some great time with the family, oh yeah, and television sucks during the day. So far I've watched "Ellen" a show I normally love, because I love Ellen, but today the "Jersey Shore" was on... nuff said. Then we watched Family Fued followed by the Price is Right. Ashley informed me that this is her daily routine. Be that as it may, I am enjoying my time home as it has been so little as of late. An episode of Tom & Jerry (yeah, I still watch that show) just started so I'm out... Deuces!

1/2 Dozen One Way, 6 Another

It's half a dozen one way, six another. Your wardrobe doesn't need to be flooded with clothing wherein only certain ties can go with certain shirts, or certain shirts can go with certain slacks. I think that association to the foundation of anyone's wardrobe is all too common, and grossly misguided. I have found my self at times trying to pair or bundle or match different items in stores and once that dynamic has been committed to a static selection, your mind predestines that clothing to always be as it is there. But a mere change in color can change the approach of an entire ensemble. In these pictures here you have a summer, spring-esque appeal for a bright and sunny day, while the other photo leaves the outfit a bit more conservative, more appealing to the gravitas of a serious or not quite as charismatic situation as its counterpart. I think at the end of the day, it's all about perception, or perceived value. I am not a conservative dresser, I find my style in the individualism and charisma of my fashion, yet it is my success of those parts that allow me to call it "style". 

Whole Foods Just Got Real!

Found this on yahoo news! Pretty funny. I don't know how Whole Foods feels about it, but I thought it was hilarious. 

Brennan Bergeron, Off to West Point

Okay, so Brennan is the guy in the hat. Now that that is clarified here is the story. It's really impressive for the 17 year old Tuerlings Graduate to be accepted to West Point yes, but the more impressive aspect of the story is his journey there. I'll say this, 15 years ago, Brennan and I would not have been scheduled to take this picture, according to doctors. See, Brennan was diagnosed with cancer at birth. I have been knowing his family since before he was born. I remember the phone call, we had just opened our 3rd restaurant (where this picture was taken) and his wonderful and loving parents had given birth to a miracle, Brennan. It was shortly thereafter they found out he had been born with a rare form of cancer. He immediately underwent treatment and according to the doctors he would not live past the age of 2, well 2 came and went and then Brennan was 6 (against the odds issued by his doctors) and life was pretty good for Brennan. We joke a lot about being pampered because he wasn't expected to have a normal life and now look at him. He has played All Star Baseball, played football, and workouts with some of the toughest people in the gym, of course it's all paid off now. I'll spare a long story and say at age 13 Brennan beat cancer. Ironically, this is where life got tough. For 13 years Brennan lead a life of a kid who was not going live very long. All of his friends and family patronized that theory which lead Brennan to want for nothing, now, at the ripe old age of 13, at the height of his adolescence, he goes from a pampered life of luxury to being treated like a "normal" kid. (I use the word normal because most kids expect to live to 13, Brennan wasn't expected to live past 2). He was being punished for disrespect and reprimanded for insubordination and he really didn't know how to accept it, I was witness to it all, it reminded me a lot of my trek at that age, although there were some differences... Remember when I said he had loving and wonderful parents? Yeah? Good, because I wasn't just saying that to be nice. These folks never stopped trying, they never stopped loving, and certainly never let the situation get the best of them. Now, to this day, Brennan eats lunch with his parents everyday. He is one of the most respectful and reverent kids of his generation. 6 months ago he and I were sharing a smoothie at Planet Nutrition in Broussard, that's when he told me he wanted to go to West Point. I could not express my deep level of appreciation and pride for him in that decision. It came as no surprise when I got a text message saying he had gotten in 2 weeks ago. Last night was his going away party at Ruby's. A 17 year old son is going away, there was a guest list of 125 people, 250 showed up to see this young man off. He leaves next Sunday for New York, once on campus his parents have exactly 90 seconds to say good bye. I chatted with his mom last night and she was in great spirits. Considering what she has been through I can't imagine that life can throw anything at her that she couldn't handle. I won't go in to the major situations that arose when Brennan was young, I want to stay positive, but I cannot say with certainty that I would've been able to rebound from life with such fervor and exuberance. I wish Brennan the best, he and I will be in touch, if not then I will definitely be in touch with his family as I see them once a week for lunch. If there is need I will get updates accordingly. 

Family Photo's... Well, Quasi Family Photos

My wife decided some time ago that we should take family photos, and like a good endearing husband, I fought the idea for months. But, like all things husbandly I lost that one. So, this past Thursday we hired a photographer (Ashley's cousin Kylie Boggs) for some family photo ops. Here is a sneak peek to what can be found here. All the photos were taken at my parents house, it was 3 in the afternoon so it was HOT! Poor Eden was so flushed here cheeks had the "rouge" all day. She is still my little princess face though.

Light & Bright

"The difference between fashion and style is quality" - Giorgio Armani. I've always said that having a lot of inexpensive clothes is not near as important as having a few quality pieces that cost a little bit more. Style will always be the staple of success, substantially more than mere fashion statements ever will. I don't have as extensive a wardrobe as my friends may think, it's just established with the finest clothes my small pocket book can afford. I focus strictly on style and make sure I can interchange many of my slacks and shirts, but it all starts with one piece. I have pictured this shirt 3 times on this blog, it's a pink and white striped Ghirardelli. When waking this morning I decided to take the opportunity to play with a few color schemes I had been surmising over the past few days. Considering the heat I wanted to stay cool, but I didn't want to sacrifice aesthetics, so the quest was on. The slacks were a no brainer, had to be a wool/linen blend, although a pure 120's or 150's wool would have been quite alright. These are a deep grey with a very light very faint brown pin stripe. The tie is a newly acquired Burberry with myriad of colors and patterns. Truthfully I've wanted to see the turquoise and red plaid against a pink-esque striped shirt for long time, I just never had the exact schemes in the same closet at the same time... until now. The shoes are Romano Martegani Pisa (if you don't own a pair of Romano Martegani's, I beseech you to acquire a pair, seriously, you will call me and thank me, in fact, if you call me I will go with...). The belt is Stefano Corsini, a direct color match to the shoes which is sometimes difficult to do, and the socks are a wool and linen blended Canali gray and brown. I wanted bright and light and I think it was accomplished. I stayed relatively cool all day and looked great. This photo was taken today while walking up to my parents house courtesy of my loving wife. But there is more to staying cool and dry than picking the right habiliments, it starts with proper hygiene, choosing the right deodorant and lathering with the right soap. Outside of that it takes the correct under shirt, I prefer the "A" frame knit (commonly known as the wife beater). 

Back In Black

"Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginable, and black is the epitome of consistency." Although I can't take credit for the quote as I am not Oscar Wilde, I can take credit for letting people know how to avoid the mundanity of wearing black as it is a color that is member to every man's wardrobe. One faux pas of fashion is avoiding black jeans, posh, if you like them buy them but wear them colorfully. I own two pair of black shoes, a beautiful pair of leather lace up Mezlan's, and these black Tony Lama 13" boots. When getting dressed to go to dinner this evening I wasn't sure what to wear, so it was off to the bat cave. I had not worn these casual Gardeur jeans (a fair trade cotton company), compliments of F Camalo, in quite some time so they were a definite. Now the challenge was set, I needed to keep it casual, but not cliché. I thought of a polo, but that was too safe, I thought of a solid V neck t-shirt but that was too consistent (although it's a great look for anyone) then came the shoe dilemma, as in... which pair to wear! I knew I wasn't going to wear the Mezlan's albeit a gorgeous shoe, dare I even say I thought of wearing flip flops, that's just a cop out for such an occasion. So that left the Tony Lama's... okay, let's see how that looks, loved it. So the shirt was left to choose and what you see is a very interesting piece, not in that it's a rare or some off brand piece (it's an Equilibrio), but in it's pattern. I chose a blue and white and black paisley button down. I wasn't sure how it was going to pan out, but at the end of the night I liked it. It really brought color to a colorless ensemble. I don't think it merits an additional pair of black jeans or even justifies wearing black on a daily basis, but if you find yourself having to wear black, remember, it doesn't have to look like you're wearing black.

PS - Eden wore the yellow for effect.

Armani, Burberry, Happiness

I photo'd these ties last night to write the portion I wrote below. Unfortunately, the pic upload didn't work and felt like was stretching throughout the entire post. I'm quite fond of my new purchases. I need solid color button down shirts. I recently purchased my very first all white button down. I realized that I didn't have one so... Ike Behar saw fit to help me rectify. I then noticed that I was lacking in the solid color shirt department. Woe is I, I must go shopping.

Diversify! Multiply! Necktie?

In many venerable professions, such as law and banking, the necktie remains an everyday ingredient of life, but even in those vocations, it is no longer taken for granted as an obligatory part of circadian dress code. Neckties, however remain one of the defining factors of the dress codes for many social occasions. Is it a black tie or white tie event? Must you wear a tie to a funeral? Thus, learning which tie to wear and how to tie it - in a variety of knots - remains one of the rituals of training for the gentlemanly life.

Ever wondered why the "dimple pinch" is such a coveted refinement to the aesthetics of the necktie? Not only does it offer a very beautiful and refined finish, it also keeps the tie itself from over wrinkling while being worn.

When selecting a necktie to wear, I think it all important to have a few directives in mind. Keep in mind these are very rudimentary scenarios but I believe they need to be addressed. First, don't wear a skinny tie, it's dumb... jj, actually I've become quite a fan of the skinny tie, but I digress.

I'll brief firstly on the proper length of a tied necktie. At the end of a brilliant pull, your tie should very delicately touch the top of your waist band, if you happen to have a button or two showing or pershaps the tip of the tie extends past the belt buckle or nearer the zipper of the trousers, retie... don't ever under any circumstance think it's ok to tuck your tie in to your waist band, you will be burned at the stake for this offense. When selecting a tie, please be cognizant of your color coordination, just because you think a tie should go with your suit or sports coat doesn't always mean it does. I am pictured here being very risque with my selection but screw you I look good. But Mark has a bit more of a sophisticated look carefully selecting a tie that complimented his suit in a most amazing fashion. As most anyone who knows me knows, I am major advocate of style, but as I have said many times before fashion has it's place. Don't be afraid to play with colors and designs, it's fun! Also, if you can't be creative, call me.

Ok, so I think I wrote all of this to get to these pictures...

 The bow-tie, my favorite neck line habiliment, probably because it's the most challenging to accrue, holds so much class and so much nostalgia and I am feared that it is losing its place in style and certainly becoming lost to my generation. Here to the come back of the bow-tie. There is not much to say about the bow-tie, just know that if your wear one, wear it strongly, and proudly; wear it passionately and charismatically. I don't think it possible to be unhappy in a bow-tie.

In Stride...

PS - I know these pics are kind of dated, but they are some of favorite. 

Tough Mudder

So I registered for my first Tough Mudder today... a premature decision I finally see, but nonetheless I have been asked to explain the tough mudder many times and it's proving difficult, in fact, when I finish my explanation the event sounds quite lame. Well, these guys break it down quite well. 

No Excuses, Even A Walrus Can Do It

This is pretty funny. I smiled at least.

Eden Getting Ready

My little princess has her very first dance recital today. Here is her costume make up done by her amazingly talented mommy.