InSearchOfSeagraves

Smoky Mountains!

2009-12-03T11:38:00.000-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving week in Sevierville, TN with the family. Someone decided to spend Christmas at home this year. So, our annual Christmas trip has been changed for one year to Thanksgiving!

Happy Holidays!

Josh turns 3 today!

2009-08-26T18:02:00.001-07:00

39 lbs

39 inches

He's excited about his gift from Jim Parmley which came in the mail yesterday!

Christmas Vacation!

2008-12-31T20:05:00.000-08:00

This year, San Antonio! This is probably my 50th time to visit this city...but, the 1st time for Joshua. I doubt he will remember much since he is only 2 years old. Like always, we rented a house with Lori's family (This is the 3rd Christmas trip together!) The previous 2 were Branson, MO and Angel Fire, NM. This has become a tradition that I hope last awhile.

Fantasy Football

2008-09-14T19:15:00.000-07:00

Nothing like embedding myself to the computer and the television just to check on my stats and players and my competition's stats and players. Who cares what the scores are, I just want my players to be successful.
Anyways, this is the first time I have played since college (back when you had to wait for the stats in the local newspaper and trust that the commissioner would transfer your information right) and I am addicted. Now, you have live scoring and you know exactly where you stand.
THIS IS GREAT!

Basketball Fever!

2008-01-26T19:50:00.000-08:00

What do you call a bunch of millionaires sitting around watching the Superbowl? Answer....The Dallas Cowboys! Anyways, we have moved on to the Mavericks and can't wait to be disappointed by them again. Can you say "Golden State?" Here is a quick video of Josh and his new backboard.

Roof top Views

2008-01-26T19:33:00.000-08:00

The new house from above!

We have been in our new house for a few months now and have a ton of work left to do, especially the landscape. We have enjoyed our outdoor fireplace on more than one occassion and have plenty of wood (construction debris) left to burn. Joshua has enjoyed the inside more than he would like due to the cold winter chill! We still have some work to do inside as well but, it is mostly cosmetic such as touching up on paint and hanging some pics on the wall.

Stay tuned for more recent pics!

San Diego!

2007-01-19T19:23:00.000-08:00

The annual sales conference......breakout rooms, awards banquet, hotel food.....good times, good times! The weather was rather chilly with some abnormal weather to the tune of over 1 billion in loss to the citrus industry! The avocados didn't fare to well either. And actually, they will probably lose their crops for next year due to loss of flowers. Guess I will be drinking Tang instead of orange juice. Do they still make that?

Most of the conference was spent talking about our #1 customer and our struggles to survive POS or Pay On Scan. The fact that our actual scan rate is below what our customer believes we should be scanning based on their calculations. In other words, we get a certain cost based on a scan rate that they think we should scan. Although, reality is a few points lower which turned out to be a few million in losses. Good thing we know how to cut expenses, such as my salary.

Anyways, we are surviving and we actually found some risky investors that want to give us money for acquisitions. I guess we need more volume to survive and according to our CEO, "If you aren't growing, you are dying!"

God bless my company and yours as well.....because its going to be tough in the future w/o "W"!

tc

20 Weeks and Counting!

2007-01-16T08:33:00.000-08:00

Joshua Phillip Carver is just over 20 weeks old now, or about 4 1/2 months. Can you believe he has lived 0.5% of his life based on an average life expectancy of 77 1/2 years. My how time flies. I guess that means I have lived over 45% of my life. Wow, I still have more than half my life left! Of course, I could have a better than average life expectancy. I am going to need it because I will be 50 years old when he starts high school. It is going to be tough playing him one on one basketball at that age.

Joshua weighed in at 16lbs 11ozs and stretched to just above 25in at his last doctor visit. He is in the 75th percentile on his weight gain (that is why he is nicknamed "Fat Tony") and average on his length. According to the Doctor's chart, based on mine and the wife's height, he should end up around 5'10".

Joshua had his first tast of snow the last week of December when 5 foot of snow fell in 3 days while we were vacationing at Angel Fire New Mexico. Needless to say, he spent most of his time indoors and hopefully will get his chance to snow ski in the future.

Joshua is also going to get a new home. We purchased 2.5 acres and plan on building our own house. The plans are done and we are waiting approval of the construction loan as well as approval from the dreaded ACC (Architectural Control Committee).

Here are recent pics!

Joshua Phillip

2006-08-27T09:34:00.000-07:00

Mr. Joshua Phillip Carver was born sat., the 26th of August, at 10:47am, weighing in at 7lbs 5.7ozs. and stretching to 18 inches.....everything good for now, more info to follow....

Mamaw's House

2006-08-05T10:39:00.000-07:00

We finally closed on our house sale and have moved into mamaw's house, awaiting the development of our future home. Moving from an 850 square foot house to a 2200 square foot house is a change that most would enjoy, with new furniture purchases and the like. But, going from a 2200 sq. ft. house to a 850 square foot house is quite the opposite of enjoyment. The garage is full, the back room is full, the storage shed is full, and the storage unit is full. Luckily, mamaw has moved out, or we might have to invest in a storage unit facility.

30 Weeks!

2006-07-01T06:48:00.000-07:00

We have had a couple of weeks of birthing class and 30 weeks of pregnancy and still no decision on a first name..... let us know your favorite!

here is the short list in no particular order:
Joshua Phillip
Braden Phillip
Hunter Phillip
Bo or Beau Phillip
Brandon Phillip
Oliver Phillip
Nolan Phillip
and of course Rawley Phillip (my choice)

We have also listed our house for sale and have a contract on it already. We are going to miss our house and have put a lot of hard work in to it. The babysitters will be glad we are moving closer. Here is a picture:

It's a Boy!

2006-04-20T19:22:00.000-07:00

Everything went well today at the Doc's office, although the baby has longer than normal legs which could lead to a 9-10 pound baby at birth (should have seen Lori's eyes when the doctor said that!)

No name for the baby. what about "Rawley?"

out!

18 Weeks

2006-04-03T06:11:00.000-07:00

Due to an overworking and under-paid job, the blog has been put on standby. But, i do have time for a quick update.

We are at 18 weeks tomorrow and have our second sonogram on april 20th to determine the sex of the child. Our last doctor's visit was good, although i did not make it due to work. Lori heard the heartbeat and was very excited, so was Cole (our nephew who replaced me for the day.) She was tested for a few genetic defects in the baby and the tests came back negative. She is at the proper weight and everything is going smooth.

Out!

12 Weeks!

2006-02-23T15:34:00.000-08:00

Today was our second visit to the doctor's office since the pregnancy began. Not much to report, although it was kind of weird watching someone else probe Lori and carry on a conversation while doing so. They took a blood sample and a urine sample along with the infamous inspection to determine whether or not she has little boy hips (by the way, she has little girl hips). Everything seems to be ok! We'll do it again in another month.

Out!

I have been Tagged

2006-02-19T13:05:00.000-08:00

thanks to Jeff !

4 Jobs I've Had:
research assistant---boring, tedious, but met good people
agricultural consultant---lots of travel (1500 miles per week)
fire systems technician---my mother's dream (a long story)
bulk mail specialist---have you ever stood in the same place for 8 hours a day?

4 Goals I've Set for this year:
I need help with this one.....

4 movies I could watch over and over
I have a hard time watching the same movie twice, but if i were still 15 years old I would be watching Footloose for the 30th time....

4 Places I have lived
Lubbock, TX
Raleigh, NC
Valdosta, GA
Beaumont, TX

4 TV Shows I love to watch
Lost
American Idol--I know I am better than most contestants
Any Sports -- especially the Mavs or Texas Tech
Medium

4 Places I've Been on Vacation:
Cruise to Mexico
Skiing in Utah
Disneyland in California
Camping in Big Bend

4 Websites I visit daily
Yahoo Finance
Yahoo email
Weather Underground--work related
Bloglines

4 of my Favorite Foods
Pizza
Macaroni and Cheese
any seafood (especially fried)--redneck platter (catfish/frog legs/ gator balls)
any bread

4 Places I would Rather Be:
since it has been freakin cold this weekend, any tropical beach sounds good--with Lori of course

Busting Out!

2006-02-13T17:02:00.000-08:00

The belly is getting bigger. Thank God for Motherhood Maternity gift cards.

The Big 33!!!!!

2006-02-12T14:02:00.000-08:00

Friday was the wife's birthday! We celebrated at her sister's house. Uncle Gregg smoked some sausage/chicken/and ribs.....ummm good! Nana made some potato salad. Grandad flew in from Florida to get his egg yolk free potato salad which Nana says was a pain in the butt to make. My mother and uncle were there along with Mamaw. We always find a way to get together for birthdays.

I am a Lensmaster!

2006-02-12T13:46:00.000-08:00

With little time to spare this week due to two employees quitting the company I work for, which allowed me to pick up their work along with mine with no pay increase, i somehow found time to become a lensmaster. If you haven't heard of Squidoo.com, then follow the link. The website is an online community of "lenses" allowing people to earn a buck while sharing their expertise. I found the site while reading an article on CNN. The website gives money to charity as well as the lensmasters who build their pages bringing people to their sites. Pretty Cool Stuff.

Here are my two lenses, which you can find in my favorite links as well.

Texas Garden
Texas Tech

Out!

HTML

2006-02-07T16:00:00.000-08:00

Tim Berners-Lee started (HTML) hypertext markup language along with the (WWW)world wide web and is one bad muther! I find myself looking up something new on the internet every night. It has become a complete addiction! I think i would even pay to go back to college just to learn more of this stuff instead of trying to teach myself. The only problem would be my slight form of (ADHD) attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

A good website for me has been HTML Goodies.

Are we all addicted? I am an average user, today....Try the quiz. I will try it again in 6 months and see if i get the same results......

Are you Addicted to the Internet?

42%

Average@Internet-User.com (41% - 60%)
You seem to have a healthy balance in your life when it comes to the internet and life away from the computer. You know enough to do what you want online without looking like an idiot (most of the time). You even have your own Yahoo club or online journal! But you enjoy seeing your friends and going out to enjoy life away from your computer.

The Are you Addicted to the Internet? Quiz at Quiz Me!

Out!

9 Weeks

2006-01-30T18:53:00.000-08:00

Well, we are 9 weeks into the pregnancy and had our 1st doctor visit last week. And thank God, the wife was impressed with the new doctor (he takes our insurance!)

Peanut!

If you have seen one of these before, the baby has some arm and leg buds and a heart, which was beating very fast. I guess i was relieved to see there was only one baby, but i was informed by the brother in-law that it was still possible to have two babies and that one might be hiding behind the other? what???

Out!

Insurance, Insurance, Insurance, INSURANCE.....

2006-01-24T18:39:00.000-08:00

Well, this week is our first appointment with the ob/gyn during the pregnancy. And guess what? My company has decided to change insurance providers. And guess what? The ob/gyn that my wife has been going to her whole life no longer accepts our new insurance provider. And guess what? That Sucks!

This situation has taken the fun out of having a baby and points to the fact that the insurance industry and healthcare in general needs to be revamped. In order for my company that I work for to keep our rates at the same premium as last year, my company had to change providers. The provider they changed to is known for being hard on doctors and refusing to pay exhorborant, overpriced doctor bills. Therefore, doctors are dropping the provider.

Do i blame my company?--Yes!
Do i blame the insurance companies?--Yes!
Do i blame the doctors?--Yes!
Do i blame "W"?--Yes!

Why cant God's Royal Insurance Policy be good enough for the doctor's? That's all we really have!

Out!

San Diego Sales Conference....."Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!"

2006-01-22T08:29:00.000-08:00

Just returned Saturday am (1 am to be precise) from a sales conference in San Diego, Ca. We stayed at the Red Lion Hanalei Hotel.

You know sales conferences are almost always a waste of time. They are more for camaraderie and moral boosting! Well, this one was really no different. We had the presentations from the CEO, the COO, the president, the GM's, the account mgr's, the customer service mgr's, the distribution mgr's, the sales mgr's, and etc... We do have a dynamic president and it is always a pleasure to hear his presentation.

Anyways, the big topic at hand was the introduction of Pay on Scan (POS) by our #1 customer. We have began this in a few markets and will be rolling it out in the DFW market come February. Now, I am not a proponent of this concept which is basically consignment sales. I think we should just open tents on every corner and sell our product directly to the consumer. But, since our sales pie is heavily weighted by our #1 customer and my company is heavily weighted by investors, grower direct will probably never be a reality due to the risk.

Change is inevitable for success!

People always fear change. People feared electricity when it was invented, didn't they? People feared coal, they feared gas-powered engines... There will always be ignorance, and ignorance leads to fear. But with time, people will come to accept their silicon masters. Bill Gates

Red Raiders Go Down Hard!

2006-01-18T06:34:00.000-08:00

Texas Tech looked like a bunch of high schoolers in a blowout loss to #5 Texas by the score of 46-80. Texas has won all of their conference games by at least 25 points and the Red Raiders fall to 2-2 in Big 12 play!

Out!

Cheers!

2006-01-17T09:03:00.000-08:00

Three cheers for Holly and Scott!

We received our first baby gift today from Holly and Scott. It was very unexpected since we just announced we were pregnant. They sent us a couple of great gifts from Baby Gap! There was a swaddle baby blanket and a bear book, "Anywhere and Everywhere" by Leslie Jonath.

One jeer for Holly for changing jobs to the "Dark Side!"

Out.

Bobby Knight; "Is he still as good as he once was?"

2006-01-16T12:30:00.000-08:00

Texas Tech vs. Texas! Tuesday Night at 8pm!

Watch the young Red Raiders basketball team get crushed by the highly ranked Texas team on ESPN tomorrow.....

That's what you would expect. But for some reason, Tech has been playing well as of late. We will see if they can keep Texas in check on their home court.

If you have watched any Red Raiders games this year, you would notice Bobby Knights lethargic pose on the sidelines. It seems he could care less about what's going on in front of him. Do you think he is actually paying attention or is he out there in "La La Land."

The Red Raiders are 2-1 in Conference play and should be 3-0 after a disappointing loss to the Aggies.

We'll see what happens tomorrow night....
Good luck to the Black and Red!

Out..

Hollywood

2006-01-15T20:01:00.000-08:00

Has anyone ever been to Hollywood?

If yes, you have probably seen some of these images. These pics are from a trip not long ago. As most people know, King Kong is making a comeback. I think I prefer Kong in black and white vs. the colorful re-make, although, I have not seen the new movie.

I believe Spiderman was re-made as well. As a matter of fact, it looks like there will be a Spiderman 3 due out May 4, 2007. If only they could re-make "Every Which Way But Loose" and "Any Which Way You Can" with that great monkey named "Clyde" from the pic above.

Does anybody get tired of re-makes? I bet Shaq (my Indian buddy who coaches a women's college team somewhere in Illinois) can't wait for Rocky 6!

Out!

Full Moon!

2006-01-13T19:25:00.000-08:00

Do you ever wonder what it would be like on friday the 13th during a FULL MOON!

Ultimate Fishing

Baby Names?

2006-01-11T18:17:00.000-08:00

Are there any good baby names available?

We haven't discussed names yet.
So, feel free to suggest one: both boy and girl (twins?).....crazy!

The Chinese Lunar Calendar says it's a boy!!!!! but Uncle Gregg Lopez thinks he's gettin a neice!

Out!

Comments

2006-01-11T15:43:00.000-08:00

Nice comments guys! How about leaving a name instead of an anonymous comment....just feel free to put your name in the text portion next time so we can truly enjoy your input....

Mr. Jeff Theis, Please Click this spot to see what I think about you!

A Dog's Life!

2006-01-10T15:52:00.000-08:00

Hello I'm Enzo and that's Harley below me!

It is such a dog's life at our house!
We spend at least 2 hours of our day opening and closing the back door so Enzo and Harley can enjoy the outside air. Although, Harley thinks we need to go outside with her when we open the door. No telling how many times I have threatened to take out a pane of glass in the bottom part of the back door so the dogs can have free rein.

The dogs also enjoy the great stare down, if you know what i mean. Try eating a plate of food without feeling like you have forgot to feed your dogs for the last week. They give you the puppy dog eyes and the whimpers, it's unbelievable! Don't worry, we always give in and use Harley and Enzo's tongue for washing the dishes.

Anyways, now you know what our dogs look like and the fact that they have complete run of the house. Boy, are they in for a rude awakening when the baby comes cryin'!

Paid In Full

2006-01-10T06:45:00.000-08:00

Just received this great email message and thought i would pass it on.

A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted. As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car.

Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study. His father
told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his
son a beautiful wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the young man's name embossed in gold. Angrily, he raised his voice to his father and said, "With all your money you give me a Bible? and stormed out of the house, leaving the Bible.

Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things.

When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search through his father's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to
turn the pages. His father had carefully underlined a verse,

Matt 7:11, "And if ye, being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more
shall your Heavenly father which is in heaven, give to those who ask Him?"

As he read those words, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words...PAID IN FULL.

How many times do we miss God's blessings because they are not packaged as we expected? I trust you enjoyed this. Pass it on to others. Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for...

IF YOUR GIFT IS NOT PACKED THE WAY YOU WANT IT, IT'S BECAUSE IT IS BETTER PACKED THAT WAY! ALWAYS APPRECIATE LITTLE THINGS; THEY USUALLY LEAD YOU TO ATTACHMENTS!

Morning Sickness

2006-01-09T13:38:00.000-08:00

my wife is pregnant for those of you who do not know! She definitely has the morning sickness and probably wishes she could throw up due to the nausea.

The plan is to keep whomever is interested updated through this blog!!!!!

We are at about 6 weeks with this planned pregnancy. I bet you guys thought i was sterile after all these years, not! Actually, we got pregnant on the first try. I dont mean the first time we had sex, i mean the first time we had unprotected sex.

I also want you guys to know the best thing about my wife being pregnant is smoothies! All the books say you need to eat healthy with lots of vitamins. Nothing better than a smoothie!

webmd

smoothie recipes

Oh, by the way,Stackhouse just nailed a 20 foot jumpshot to put the Mavs up 2 points over the Celticswith 0.1 seconds on the clock!

Anyways, just keep in touch with this blog for future updates. And by the way, i will explain the title of the blog in the near future......

Out!

Day One

2006-01-08T16:13:00.000-08:00

Where are you?