tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37287086789056814392008-07-18T07:29:32.478-07:00Leighton aka MyBestInvesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18171624370454157054noreply@blogger.comBlogger394125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728708678905681439.post-16310567145799945252008-07-18T03:22:00.000-07:002008-07-18T03:41:34.875-07:00

Here's this week's edition of Friday Fives. Five Great Things That Happened This Week: 1. I got the basement dried out. I told you earlier about the drama with our wet basement. Hauling out the old carpeting and running two dehumidifiers did the trick. Thank heavens. 2. I got to play golf. A few times a year, I get to play golf for work. The weather was gorgeous and I had three good guys on my

Leighton aka MyBestInvesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18171624370454157054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728708678905681439.post-23493327119505599262008-07-15T18:23:00.000-07:002008-07-15T18:55:16.463-07:00

I had plans for a good post on Sunday night showing you a picture of rain falling into my kitchen through a window. A closed window. And I'm not a contractor, but my instincts tell me that rain is not supposed to pour in through a closed window. So that's a problem. Since Sunday's rain was a real gullywasher, I walked down to the basement to check another spot that gets some moisture during

Leighton aka MyBestInvesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18171624370454157054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728708678905681439.post-82528505020450945032008-07-14T03:30:00.000-07:002008-07-14T03:48:37.682-07:00

Back when Wife was pregnant with Son, everyone had the same reaction when we told them the lump in Wife's tummy was a boy. "Oh, you'll just LOVE having a boy," they'd say. And they were right. We LOVE having a boy. He's funny, smart, sweet and rough. Just like his Daddy. But then these people would finish their sentence with, "boys are just so EASY." I choose to disagree with that one. I

Leighton aka MyBestInvesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18171624370454157054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728708678905681439.post-66768806529955598932008-07-11T03:11:00.000-07:002008-07-11T03:30:57.680-07:00

This week's edition of Friday Fives is a reminder to me of why I keep blogging. Five Cool Things That Have Happened to Me Since I Started My Blog 1. I got my first comment. Within a week of starting my blog, I had my first comment from a total stranger when Long Island Dad left a nice comment about this post. It doesn't matter how big or how small your blog is, every comment is a compliment. (

Leighton aka MyBestInvesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18171624370454157054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728708678905681439.post-40712460631085619942008-07-10T17:40:00.000-07:002008-07-10T18:10:02.825-07:00

I've told you in previous posts that I've been jogging lately. And really the only reason I keep telling you about my jogging is not because I think you find it interesting, or because I find it particularly interesting. Rather, if I keep telling you about how I'm jogging, maybe it will create some accountability for me. Anyhow, I'm coming to you with this post because an incident on last

Leighton aka MyBestInvesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18171624370454157054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728708678905681439.post-78506373573341544482008-07-09T11:56:00.000-07:002008-07-09T10:56:00.322-07:00

In a post a few weeks ago, I said that this summer is considerably less hectic than last summer. I stand by that, but I don't want to leave the impression that we're not having our fair share of summer excitement. It's just that this summer's excitement is a different variety than normal. Last summer was all about trips and moving into a new house. This summer we're getting a new roof.

Leighton aka MyBestInvesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18171624370454157054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728708678905681439.post-18255222541869575322008-07-08T01:00:00.000-07:002008-07-08T01:00:01.659-07:00

One of the cool things about living in the heart of the Bible Belt is that people seem more apt to integrate their faith with their business lives. Case in point, similar to Chick-fil-A, I have a friend who closes his restaurant on Sundays so that he's not forcing his employees to choose between working and attending church. Granted, his people don't have to use their day off to go to church,

Leighton aka MyBestInvesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18171624370454157054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728708678905681439.post-81731962574701687122008-07-07T03:40:00.000-07:002008-07-07T04:01:44.196-07:00

Amanda at Oh Amanda tagged me for the 7 Random Things about My Kids meme. It's my kind of meme because it's simple, and because I lose confidence when I have to count beyond seven. So here goes: 1. Daughter was born two days after my birthday. Son was born three days before Wife's birthday. 2. They've introduced new words into the family vocabulary. Daughter gave us the word "crooky" to

Leighton aka MyBestInvesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18171624370454157054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728708678905681439.post-26285698099019144202008-07-04T04:00:00.000-07:002008-07-04T04:02:35.701-07:00

Five things I like about this 4th of July 1. It's hot. I wouldn't know how to act if it weren't blistering outside on the 4th. The air will be warm and thick with humidity. We'll all be sweaty and gross. And it will be awesome. 2. The menu is looking good. Wife bought stuff to grill hamburgers for dinner, and we've got our church picnic at lunchtime. There's nothing better than a paper plate

Leighton aka MyBestInvesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18171624370454157054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728708678905681439.post-18162430692768470272008-07-01T18:09:00.000-07:002008-07-01T18:38:42.746-07:00

Last summer I decided I wanted to take Daughter to a baseball game. Our small town is home to a minor league affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. I think it's a single A team, but it may very well be somewhere in the high Bs. The games are low-key and draw a respectable crowd. Being the awesome dad that I am, I procrastinated so long last summer that we never got around to going. So tonight,

Leighton aka MyBestInvesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18171624370454157054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728708678905681439.post-80997218925050683792008-06-30T17:16:00.000-07:002008-06-30T17:41:12.399-07:00

On our way upstairs for bedtime tonight, Daughter informed us that she had special powers. What special powers, you ask? In her own words: changing picture frame colorsmaking banana cakesrunning really fastShe also gave herself a superhero name: Lya. As it turns out, not only does she have superpowers, but she's the keeper of the superpowers, because before bedtime was over she named the rest

Leighton aka MyBestInvesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18171624370454157054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728708678905681439.post-73024918651085820192008-06-29T18:20:00.000-07:002008-06-29T18:35:46.086-07:00

A few weeks ago, Wife found her old My Little Ponies and Care Bears in a storage room upstairs. I suggested she eBay the things and we go spend a month at the Plaza in New York with the money. She opted to give all the vintage toys to Daughter. Whatever. Anyhow, with all the extra toys, the girl's room can get pretty cluttered. So Wife spent about 30 minutes cleaning up Daughter's room this

Leighton aka MyBestInvesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18171624370454157054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728708678905681439.post-50375960380489873882008-06-26T17:46:00.001-07:002008-06-27T03:24:19.199-07:00

Last week I started a new feature here called Friday Fives. The basic concept is this: I make a list of five things. I post it on Friday. If you need a more detailed explanation, email me and I'll elaborate. Anyhow, here's this week's Friday Fives: FIVE DAYS I'D LIKE TO RE-LIVE: 1. College graduation - May 1998 Graduation day was the perfect blend of all my favorite things: my college, my

Leighton aka MyBestInvesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18171624370454157054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728708678905681439.post-27210360176173416862008-06-26T03:37:00.000-07:002008-06-26T03:56:52.969-07:00

What a difference a year makes. Here's what was on the horizon this time last year: We had just sealed the deal on moving to our new homeWe were planning a July 4 road trip to Philadelphia to see my brother and sister-in-lawWe were planning a July trip and August trip to Nashville for a friend's wedding eventsWe had a condo reserved at the beach in August to cap off the summerAll of which helps

Leighton aka MyBestInvesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18171624370454157054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728708678905681439.post-76243718276680008752008-06-25T03:34:00.001-07:002008-06-25T03:54:22.766-07:00

Last night I had one of the worst dreams I can remember. I was working in a small town in China with another American. A previous American visitor to their town had committed some sort of crime, but slipped away before he could be punished. Thus, the townspeople decided to punish one of us for his crime. They would give the two of us a battery of tests, and whoever performed worst on the tests

Leighton aka MyBestInvesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18171624370454157054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728708678905681439.post-38110504051147699192008-06-24T17:19:00.001-07:002008-06-24T18:11:17.988-07:00

A lot of people keep their homes company-ready at all times. I'd bet this is particularly true in the South, where people still stop by to visit unannounced. When your home is company-ready, there's always a pitcher of tea in the fridge and there's any number of fresh, clean spaces to sit and chat. The same is true for blogs. A good blogger always keeps fresh, snappy content at the top of the

Leighton aka MyBestInvesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18171624370454157054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728708678905681439.post-61557638132370660192008-06-23T03:35:00.000-07:002008-06-23T03:57:22.597-07:00

It's over. My 48 hour stretch of single parenthood has come to an end. I'd judge our weekend a success for three simple reasons: No one got hurtNo one called Child Protective ServicesI still have my sanity (somewhat)After I posted my first update on Saturday, I loaded up the kids and met some other dudes and their kids at the children's museum. After a solid hour there, we made a run through

Leighton aka MyBestInvesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18171624370454157054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728708678905681439.post-2073620722250085992008-06-21T06:34:00.001-07:002008-06-21T07:02:12.252-07:00

As I mentioned in my last post, Wife has jumped ship and headed for a weekend in the mountains with some friends. That leaves me in charge of my progeny for the whole weekend. And as much as I'd like to be the one surrounded with adult friends and an hour removed from soiled diapers and temper tantrums, I still have a lot of fun on these special weekends. Plus, who's to say that there won't be

Leighton aka MyBestInvesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18171624370454157054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728708678905681439.post-32148785246267609372008-06-20T03:35:00.000-07:002008-06-20T03:52:01.691-07:00

Today marks the beginning of a new feature called Friday Fives. Five Things I'd Like to Do This Weekend While Wife Is On A Girl Trip 1. Get out and do something fun with the kids on Saturday Noggin is my escape hatch when I don't have anything planned for the kids, and I want to avoid the TV as much as possible. I'd like to get them out and run 'em around at the park for a few hours. 2. Get

Leighton aka MyBestInvesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18171624370454157054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728708678905681439.post-6829331748934938602008-06-19T18:03:00.000-07:002008-06-19T18:36:28.237-07:00

I got tagged for a meme over at Postulates and Pasttimes. It's the Six Word Memoir meme. The idea is to write a six-word memoir of your life. Here are the rules: Write your own six word memoir. Post it to your blog including a visual illustration if you would like. Link to the person who tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the

Leighton aka MyBestInvesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18171624370454157054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728708678905681439.post-32638907558591274362008-06-18T19:15:00.000-07:002008-06-18T19:58:56.374-07:00

We're expecting quite a nice gift from the pediatrician's office this year. Maybe a wine-and-cheese basket. Possibly tickets to a show. Maybe even an exotic getaway. Even though I don't know exactly what they'll do for us, I figure they'll have to do something. Because we are single-handedly bankrolling the whole group. Our latest contribution to their coffers came just this morning, when

Leighton aka MyBestInvesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18171624370454157054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728708678905681439.post-52614396335981803802008-06-17T19:12:00.000-07:002008-06-17T19:28:37.470-07:00

A few minutes after I got home last night I realized I forgot to run by the dry cleaner to pick up my shirts. I have a standing 8 a.m. meeting at my office in the town 30 minutes up the road on Tuesdays, so I knew I wouldn't have time to pick them up in the morning. I looked at my wife, who had been dealing with an almost-over-strep two year old and about-to-get-strep four year old, and

Leighton aka MyBestInvesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18171624370454157054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728708678905681439.post-44468832567490848422008-06-17T19:07:00.000-07:002008-06-17T19:11:12.872-07:00

Okay Internet nerds. I need your help. You see over in my sidebar where it says "Favorite Posts"? The link to my post called Why Daddies Should Date Their Daughters seems to be busted. I went into my template and re-pasted the url of that post, and it's still not working. I'm at a loss. Any ideas?

Leighton aka MyBestInvesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18171624370454157054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728708678905681439.post-52431290411405953402008-06-16T17:50:00.000-07:002008-06-16T18:10:50.665-07:00

It's been about three weeks since I started jogging. I haven't been hospitalized. I haven't thrown up in my neighborhood. And each time I go run, it gets a little easier. Of course, I haven't run any great distances on my outings, but I'm making the effort. That counts for something, right? I still don't believe you people that commented on my previous posts with things like "I'd rather jog

Leighton aka MyBestInvesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18171624370454157054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728708678905681439.post-39280736895812419522008-06-16T03:33:00.000-07:002008-06-16T03:50:36.685-07:00

The wife and the kids - they are good. They really know how to do Father's Day. Wife popped out of bed at 6 a.m. yesterday to preheat the oven for a big breakfast casserole she'd made. While that was cooking, we sat and read the paper in peace and quiet. Getting the kids dressed for church was a bit of a battle because once we'd sold them on the idea of wearing some matching outfits that Wife

Leighton aka MyBestInvesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18171624370454157054noreply@blogger.com