According to the "What to Expect When You Are Expecting" app that Leandra has on her iPhone, our baby weighs in at about 4.5 lbs and is the size of a honeydew melon. There is one ironic thing about the baby's weight. If you deduct the 4.5 lbs that the baby weighs, Leandra would actually weigh LESS than when we started the IVF process last August.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Belly Bump - Week 32
I'm a day late with our weekly pic. Whoops! Here it is: 
According to the "What to Expect When You Are Expecting" app that Leandra has on her iPhone, our baby weighs in at about 4.5 lbs and is the size of a honeydew melon. There is one ironic thing about the baby's weight. If you deduct the 4.5 lbs that the baby weighs, Leandra would actually weigh LESS than when we started the IVF process last August.
According to the "What to Expect When You Are Expecting" app that Leandra has on her iPhone, our baby weighs in at about 4.5 lbs and is the size of a honeydew melon. There is one ironic thing about the baby's weight. If you deduct the 4.5 lbs that the baby weighs, Leandra would actually weigh LESS than when we started the IVF process last August.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Belly Bump - Week 31
I guess we are officially in single digits in remaining weeks. Still two months to go, which I'm sure will cruise by. We got back from Wisconsin on Sunday and started going through everything from the baby shower to put it through the wash.
Before I get any further, thank you to everyone for your gifts. It means a lot. Special thanks to my mom and sister for putting this whole thing together. I wasn't there, but I heard that everyone had a great time.
Here is the most important part of today's posting...the picture. It doesn't have the same impact since most of our family saw us over the weekend, but it's a weekly tradition.
This picture was taken in the baby's room. It's coming along now.
Before I get any further, thank you to everyone for your gifts. It means a lot. Special thanks to my mom and sister for putting this whole thing together. I wasn't there, but I heard that everyone had a great time.
Here is the most important part of today's posting...the picture. It doesn't have the same impact since most of our family saw us over the weekend, but it's a weekly tradition.
This picture was taken in the baby's room. It's coming along now.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
SPiN Milwaukee
I'm not in Evansvillle for this story. This is one of those things that you would never see in Evansville...which is really too bad.
We arrived in Wisconsin on Friday afternoon for the baby shower that my mom and sister were hosting for Leandra. I had no intention of attending and made alternative plans to attend SPiN Milwaukee.
SPiN Milwaukee is a table tennis club/restaurant/sports bar. I found out about this venue after reading a story about it in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The main room hold 12 tables with an additional center table, complete with scoring table and bleachers, used for feature matches and tournaments. There is a dining area, a bar and flat screen TVs mounted throughout the space.
SPiN Milwaukee is located in the Third Ward Historical District just outside of the downtown area I came in with my niece's dad (while mom and niece were at a baby shower) and planned to meet two other people while we were there. We got there around 12:30 and ordered lunch before we reserved our table. With a burger, fries and a cold bottle of Sprecher Root Beer polished off, it was time to pick up some paddles and balls and get our table.
For non-club members, tables can be rented for $16/hour during the day. You are provided a bucket of balls that are constantly refilled by someone picking up all the stray balls on the floor. That's right...you don't need to pick up the balls that fly off your table. A guy walks around with a net who scoops the balls off the floor and refills the buckets. Pretty cool, although it took a couple of turns to remember that we didn't have to chase down every ball that went astray.
Our table was kind of unique. It had a "chalkboard" set-up with messages written on it. The net was kind of like a mini-chain link fence which made for some interesting play. All of the balls were orange with the SPiN Milwaukee logo on them.
I'm pretty sure we held our table for more than an hour, but no extra charges were tacked on. By the time we left, the place was hopping with most tables being used and two "studs" playing at the center table. There was a VIP room that was being used that day for a fundraiser tournament. Apparently, the evening was booked with nothing available to reserve until the next day.
The one other plus to the venue is that it is smoke-free. Of course, the entire state of Wisconsin is smoke free, but I would think that this place wouldn't want smoking because of the semi-athletic nature of the place.
This place was a lot of fun. While the weekends bring in more competitive players, there were many families at the tables playing casual games alongside those who were trying put as much spin and speed on the ball during each rally.
We spent about two and a half hours there between lunch and playing. We could have spent much more if I didn't have other places to be. I did get a nice t-shirt for my wife that says "Balls Are My Business." (Yeah, I couldn't resist...heh, heh!) I can't wait to get back to Milwaukee. This is on my "must-go list."
We arrived in Wisconsin on Friday afternoon for the baby shower that my mom and sister were hosting for Leandra. I had no intention of attending and made alternative plans to attend SPiN Milwaukee.
SPiN Milwaukee is a table tennis club/restaurant/sports bar. I found out about this venue after reading a story about it in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The main room hold 12 tables with an additional center table, complete with scoring table and bleachers, used for feature matches and tournaments. There is a dining area, a bar and flat screen TVs mounted throughout the space.
SPiN Milwaukee is located in the Third Ward Historical District just outside of the downtown area I came in with my niece's dad (while mom and niece were at a baby shower) and planned to meet two other people while we were there. We got there around 12:30 and ordered lunch before we reserved our table. With a burger, fries and a cold bottle of Sprecher Root Beer polished off, it was time to pick up some paddles and balls and get our table.For non-club members, tables can be rented for $16/hour during the day. You are provided a bucket of balls that are constantly refilled by someone picking up all the stray balls on the floor. That's right...you don't need to pick up the balls that fly off your table. A guy walks around with a net who scoops the balls off the floor and refills the buckets. Pretty cool, although it took a couple of turns to remember that we didn't have to chase down every ball that went astray.
Our table was kind of unique. It had a "chalkboard" set-up with messages written on it. The net was kind of like a mini-chain link fence which made for some interesting play. All of the balls were orange with the SPiN Milwaukee logo on them.
I'm pretty sure we held our table for more than an hour, but no extra charges were tacked on. By the time we left, the place was hopping with most tables being used and two "studs" playing at the center table. There was a VIP room that was being used that day for a fundraiser tournament. Apparently, the evening was booked with nothing available to reserve until the next day.
The one other plus to the venue is that it is smoke-free. Of course, the entire state of Wisconsin is smoke free, but I would think that this place wouldn't want smoking because of the semi-athletic nature of the place.This place was a lot of fun. While the weekends bring in more competitive players, there were many families at the tables playing casual games alongside those who were trying put as much spin and speed on the ball during each rally.
We spent about two and a half hours there between lunch and playing. We could have spent much more if I didn't have other places to be. I did get a nice t-shirt for my wife that says "Balls Are My Business." (Yeah, I couldn't resist...heh, heh!) I can't wait to get back to Milwaukee. This is on my "must-go list."
Monday, March 14, 2011
Belly Bump - Week 30
30 weeks down, 10 more to go. Leandra had her bi-weekly doctor's visit and everything is still going well. The heartbeat was at 138 beats/minute. The nice part of being unemployed is that I can go with my wife to these visits and not use any sick time.
Here is your weekly dose of Leandra's belly!
Here is your weekly dose of Leandra's belly!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
2011 Run of Luck
(UPDATED: 3/14/2011)
On Saturday, I took part in the second run of the "Winter Meltdown Series.". The Run of Luck is a 7K run -- about 4.3 miles -- which takes place in the downtown area of Evansville. I don't know exactly how many people ran, but I did hear there were 1,400 preregistered runners and that it was the largest attended run in its 11-year history.
The weather turned out to be perfect for the ride. It had been cold and/or rainy most of the week. The sun came out for the day and brought some warmth with it as we hit the mid 50s by the time we took off.
The starting point was different than last year with the festivities taking place in downtown headquarters of an area bank. The route was virtually the same except for some adjustments that were made for the new start/finish point. After weaving through some of the downtown streets, we turned onto Riverside Drive, which runs alongside the Ohio River. We ran on the street as we passed Casino Aztar and then moves onto the Greenway (bike/running path). We moved back onto the roads and ran through a few neighborhoods as we made our way back to downtown and the finish line.
My pace was pretty decent, but I seemed to have hit the same roadblocks from the year before. Shortly before the 3 mile mark, I hit a little bit of "a wall" as I felt some tightness in my shins and some minor fatigue started setting in. I slowed down my pace to get myself back in track. The strategy worked as I was comfortably able to pick up the pace for the last half mile. I wanted to finish strong and I was able get into a decent stride to finish out.
Now for the important stuff...here were my stats according to the sensor system that is used for the run:
On Saturday, I took part in the second run of the "Winter Meltdown Series.". The Run of Luck is a 7K run -- about 4.3 miles -- which takes place in the downtown area of Evansville. I don't know exactly how many people ran, but I did hear there were 1,400 preregistered runners and that it was the largest attended run in its 11-year history.The weather turned out to be perfect for the ride. It had been cold and/or rainy most of the week. The sun came out for the day and brought some warmth with it as we hit the mid 50s by the time we took off.
The starting point was different than last year with the festivities taking place in downtown headquarters of an area bank. The route was virtually the same except for some adjustments that were made for the new start/finish point. After weaving through some of the downtown streets, we turned onto Riverside Drive, which runs alongside the Ohio River. We ran on the street as we passed Casino Aztar and then moves onto the Greenway (bike/running path). We moved back onto the roads and ran through a few neighborhoods as we made our way back to downtown and the finish line.
My pace was pretty decent, but I seemed to have hit the same roadblocks from the year before. Shortly before the 3 mile mark, I hit a little bit of "a wall" as I felt some tightness in my shins and some minor fatigue started setting in. I slowed down my pace to get myself back in track. The strategy worked as I was comfortably able to pick up the pace for the last half mile. I wanted to finish strong and I was able get into a decent stride to finish out.Now for the important stuff...here were my stats according to the sensor system that is used for the run:
- In 2010, I completed the run in 43:20.6 with a 10:03 mile pace.
- In 2011, I completed the run in 41:15.8 with a 9:30 mile pace.
- Out of the 1,201 runners, I came in at 577 (just barely made the top half) and I was 42nd out of the 61 runners in my age group.
With a 5K and a 7K under my belt, I have one month to build up to my next run Southern Indiana Classic Half marathon (13.1 miles).
Friday, March 11, 2011
Evansville Flooding
I had to ride my bike out to Bob's Gym West to meet the HR guy and fill out my paperwork to start my Group Kick classroom instruction. With the weather being nice (low 50's), I figured it was a nice day to get some miles on the bike. I checked out the route -- I am not too familiar with the west side -- and decided to ride the new Greenway passage, which is on the way.
I never took into account the amount of rain that we have received here in the last couple of weeks. As far as elevation goes, Evansville is pretty low. It's pretty close to the height of the Ohio River. When we get significant rainfall or experience a wet part of the season, which can be a combination of what we get here and what occurs up river, it can wreak havoc in this area.
I live towards the top of the hill and pretty well inland so flooding has never been a direct issue for me, but it can be a nightmare to get around. The Ohio River is far from me, but Pigeon Creek, which cuts through town, is not. I've seen stretches of closed roads and bridges shut down because of high waters (due to poor foresight when constructing). Some of these roads have been addressed and raised, especially the main arteries that are dependent of moving traffic.
In many areas, a natural levee has been constructed between the river/creek and the city to avoid flooding in houses. (By the way, most houses don't have basements because of the flooding issue.) The portion of the greenway that I was going to take runs along Pigeon Creek. Sometimes it is on top of the levee, othertimes it runs on the alongside the river. Imagine my surprise, when I saw this...
Needless to say, I needed to take a detour. Thankfully, I had not gone too far out of my way.
I never took into account the amount of rain that we have received here in the last couple of weeks. As far as elevation goes, Evansville is pretty low. It's pretty close to the height of the Ohio River. When we get significant rainfall or experience a wet part of the season, which can be a combination of what we get here and what occurs up river, it can wreak havoc in this area.
I live towards the top of the hill and pretty well inland so flooding has never been a direct issue for me, but it can be a nightmare to get around. The Ohio River is far from me, but Pigeon Creek, which cuts through town, is not. I've seen stretches of closed roads and bridges shut down because of high waters (due to poor foresight when constructing). Some of these roads have been addressed and raised, especially the main arteries that are dependent of moving traffic.
In many areas, a natural levee has been constructed between the river/creek and the city to avoid flooding in houses. (By the way, most houses don't have basements because of the flooding issue.) The portion of the greenway that I was going to take runs along Pigeon Creek. Sometimes it is on top of the levee, othertimes it runs on the alongside the river. Imagine my surprise, when I saw this...
Needless to say, I needed to take a detour. Thankfully, I had not gone too far out of my way.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Moving On From the Fraternity
On March 4, 2011, I was laid off from my employment at Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. As a part of a restructuring of the national headquarters staff, the position of Director of Alumni Engagement was eliminated.
There have been a few individuals who have been in contact with me since that time over e-mail and Facebook either thanking me for my work or just trying to find out what has happened. While there are things I’m not going to talk about in regards to my employment, I thought I would say a few things.
There have been some people asking about my future employment. As it currently stands, I don’t have anything lined up. Coincidentally, I had recently sent out applications at two universities to test the waters. With a baby on the way, I felt it necessary to start looking for jobs with a benefit package that covers family members.
As far as my time spent working for the Fraternity, it has definitely been an memorable experience. I’ve been very fortunate to be a part of many great things during my 6.5 years on staff:
- The launch of the Life Loyal Sinfonian program which brought in almost 800 people since 2007
- The start of the Signature Sinfonian with 30 members inducted since 2006
- Growth of our alumni associations from 4 to 20 (currently at 17 with one petition pending)
- Involvement in two national convention (2006 and 2009)
- Travel to over 50 cities across the country to meet alumni, as well as attendance at four charterings/reactivations (at least), four province workshops and two chapter anniversary celebrations
- Writing and/or managing content for national publications, including The Sinfonian, Sinfonia Resonance and The Red and Black
- Development of The Lamplight, a guide of alumni opportunities; our graduating brother materials, which has reached out to more than 3,000 graduates; and expansion of our presence and state and national music conventions
- Oversight of the expansion of our Province Alumni Coordinators and training sessions held specifically for these volunteers
- Commitment to addressing the integrity of our membership database
- Meeting with prominent Sinfonians such as: Walt Parazaider, Lee Loughnane and Jimmy Pankow (the horn players of Chicago), Ruben Studdard, Vic Firth and Mike Cesario
- Interaction with thousands of Sinfonians
I’ve been very fortunate to work with a fantastic group of volunteers who have been committed to the success of the Fraternity. Although my departure on staff was a bit unexpected it was inevitable that I would have to leave for the best interests of my family.
I am truly appreciative of all the friends I have made and I hope that I have the ability to stay in touch with all of you. This brotherhood means a lot to me and I am glad to have shared it with you.
Sincerely,
Dan Krueger, Xi Pi (Wisconsin-Whitewater) '96
Monday, March 7, 2011
Belly Bump - 29 Weeks
No major additions this week to mention this week. We moved the picture from the dining room to the baby's room.
Leandra has gained a little "hard spot" that moves around which I assume is the head or butt of the baby. I like to play "Find the Hard Spot." It keeps me entertained.
Leandra has gained a little "hard spot" that moves around which I assume is the head or butt of the baby. I like to play "Find the Hard Spot." It keeps me entertained.
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