Mom and Dad Gardner

I am so submitting this to My Parents Were Awesome.

Our new house

About two weeks ago our offer on the house we wanted was accepted, and today was the professional inspection. Our inspectors were Terrence and Debbie Hayes from Hayes Home Inspection, and they did a wonderful job. Debbie compiled a 22-page report complete with photographs of Terrence's findings, and presented it in a nice binder along with a home maintenance tip booklet and information on Arizona Home Inspector standards.  Terrence even showed me a couple of tips on garage door maintenance, the cooling/heating system, and the built-in irrigation system timer.

They bring their computer and printer with them to the property, so this was given to us before we even left the house! On top of that, Kerri and I received a digital copy of the report before we got home.  I would definitely recommend them to any of our friends who need an inspection - they are good people, and thorough.

Most importantly, however, there were no major issues to report!  The house needs a little paint here and there, but aside from that it's ready for move-in.  Elway loves the new house and yard and met some of the neighbors today. We hope to close on November 18th.

The importance of the medium

Tome Reader by Ozyman on Flickr

It's been said that e-book readers like the Kindle or Nook will not do for literature what the iPod has done for music.  The argument centers around the fact that audiophiles enjoy music in all it's forms; whether it's digital, in person, or a cassette tape is of little to no consequence.  For many people who love books, the medium is hugely important - the cover design, the texture and crispness of the pages, the font layout, et cetera are all part of the experience.  There is a significance to the tactile and tangible features of the books that one would certainly miss out on when using an e-reader, despite the convenience that the device offers.

I find myself squarely in that category of book-lovers, though I would really appreciate the convenience that an e-reader would provide.  I especially love collecting and owning books.  So what I suggest is this: books that are sold in their physical form should have some sort of redemption code so the purchaser can download the electronic version of the book to their e-reader.  Where I would never purchase an e-book by itself, I would have a hard time staying away from book retailers if this system were to be implemented.  More devices sold, more books sold - it's a win-win!

Our baby boy

As promised, here's Kerri's ultrasound that we had yesterday. The song is Brad Paisley's "Anything Like Me". It's a pretty thrilling experience to see your baby's heart on the ultrasound screen, and to be able to make out all 4 chambers, see his little leg and arm bones, and even to count his ribs.

I'm not sure if I've ever been this excited in my entire life.

It's a boy!

It's going to be a boy and I can't stop smiling! That's not an exaggeration or just a saying, I have literally been smiling for four hours straight. And the more I think about it, the bigger I smile (and maybe cry a little). I don't think I've ever been happier.

Jeffry insists that I put a picture with every post, so here is this post's corresponding picture; this is one of my favorite pictures of Jeffry as a kid!

Jeffry will post the newest ultrasound later.

I'm so tired of this

Seven-year-old Kylie Bruehler attends a memorial service for her parents Tuesday.

Two people were killed after a truck hit them when they were bicycling Thursday morning.

Deputies say Gregory, 42, and Alexandra Bruehler, 36, were riding a tandem bike (one bike, two riders) southbound on Highway 16 in Northwest Bexar County, when a pickup truck veered onto the shoulder and struck them from behind. Their bike was reportedly dragged for about 200 feet.

Alexandra was pronounced dead at the scene. Gregory Bruehler was taken to an area hospital where he later died.

...Investigators say there are no charges on the driver. They believe this was an accident and that somehow the driver lost control of his truck.

I'm tired of the ignorance of the law, the vitriol and hate towards cyclists, and the lack of enforcement of safe passing laws.  I think it's ridiculous that friends of mine and others have been ticketed for minor cycling offenses when inattentive drivers who hit bikes are rarely given a slap on the wrist.

San Antonio Express News Columnist Veronica Flores sums it up pretty well:

...The bicyclists' ire has several targets - reckless drivers and law enforcement's inconsistent handling of auto-bike accidents, for instance. And then there's Gov. Rick Perry, who in June vetoed legislation that would have required motorists to give bicyclists and other "vulnerable road users" a clearance of at least 3 feet when passing on most highways.

For eight years, bicycling advocates worked to get such legislation passed, changing the proposal as necessary to gain widespread support. So sure were they of the bill's success in this legislative session - it passed unanimously in the House and 25-6 in the Senate - they asked the governor's office for a public signing ceremony in hopes of raising awareness of the new law.

Last month, former House Speaker Pete Laney's brother-in-law died after he was hit by a vehicle while he rode a bike on a service road of Interstate 20 west of Fort Worth. As with the Bruehlers, a motorist "veered into" Larry McQuien's path, according to published reports.

Some bicycling enthusiasts darkly joke that, when it comes to how bicyclists are treated on the road, they may as well be deer. But deer don't leave little girls as orphans.

Yes, cyclists need to be more aware of the law and stop blowing through stop signs at busy intersections. Yes, we could all be more aware. But until enforcement of the law starts protecting the vulnuerable, we can count on the creation of more widows and orphans.

via Tucson Bike Lawyer
Bicyclists on the road treated no better than deer - mySA.com

House Hunting

Now that Kerri and I are having a baby, we've decided to pull the trigger on buying a home. We want to take advantage of the tax credit and market conditions are good for us to get in at a good price.

It's been a little bit frustrating, though. Since the deadline for the 10% tax credit is approaching fast, properties are starting to sell faster than we can get an offer in place for them. We've had one property that we really liked, but the listing agent hadn't updated the MLS database with the information that there was an active contract on the property. The property that we made a bid on last night already has one offer, so we have to hope that we out-bid them.

I know we'll get into something since there are so many homes out there, but I'm not very patient. I hope that we get an accepted offer soon so we can take this next big step in our lives.

New Commenting System

Kerri and I like hearing from you guys on our blog posts - it makes us feel like we are more connected to our friends and family, and whoever else reads the blog.

But I've never been crazy about the commenting system that is built in to Blogger.  I don't like the lack of consistency in visual appearance, and the template is difficult to modify.  So I've installed the commenting system from IntenseDebate, which allows a couple of desired features:

• One of these is authentication using Facebook connect or Twitter oAuth, to quickly and easily login as your facebook or Twitter identity while commenting.  Commenters can also login using OpenID, or comment the old-fashioned way, by typing in a name and email address.
  
  
• Another feature is a nested reply functionality, which allows people to respond to particular comments on a post.
  
  
• People who comment can now subscribe via email to all the comments on a post or replies to their own comments.

This system will not appear on any post with existing comments, so as to keep said comments.  It will only appear on pages with no comments and all new posts.  So anyway - comment!  We would love to see what our friends and family have to say about what we discuss.

17 weeks

I'm 17 weeks pregnant now and I've had a fabulous pregnancy so far. No morning sickness or nausea, no anything really. I can't eat as much as I used to, and I was very tired for awhile, but that stuff's all manageable. I haven't gained any weight yet, and my tummy is just now starting to protrude. Which at first I felt good about, like "yay, look at me not getting fat". But then I see pictures on the internet of another first-time-mommy-to-be at 17 weeks (left) compared to me (right):

 

It makes me feel a little inadequate. The doctor is not concerned at all and neither am I, I'm just envious. I want a belly!

Or forever hold your peace!

In two weeks we have our next ultrasound, and we should be able to find out the sex of the baby. So, folks, here's your chance: if you just know that it's gonna be a boy or a girl, let us know now. Write a comment telling us what you think it'll be. I don't wanna hear after we find out, "oh, I always knew it would be a girl!"- unless you wrote it in the comments section first. Otherwise, I'll think you're a big fat liar. If you'd just like to hazard a guess, that's great too, write it in the comments section. For the record, I'm going with girl, and Jeff's going with boy. So, whatdoya think?? Let us know!