Matthew Liberty

Gabby Giffords

A couple of things happened in a span of 24 to 48 hours…Navy Seals went in to Somalia and successfully rescued two hostages and Gabby Giffords resigned from Congress to concentrate on rehabilitation after being shot in the head over a year ago.

What’s so great about these two events other than the obvious?

To me, these two events show us how amazing people can be, they show how awesome life can be, and the true meaning of the human spirit…but you know what else they show?

Those two moments show us exactly how weak and infantile our politicians are.

How does Washington find the balls to bicker and point fingers when Navy Seals are risking their lives to rescue two people they do not know? How is it that our politicians gather up the courage to be so greedy and non-compromising when someone like Gabby Giffords has shown us how fragile life is?

There are a million examples we can use here to show how absolutely disgusting it is that our political leaders choose greed over giving, name calling over problem solving, and selfishness over selflessness.
When I was a kid, politicians were still people to look up to. Now…I am utterly disappointed in the behavior of our elected officials.

To the politicians…your greed, your dishonesty, and your unwillingness to compromise is beyond disgusting. There are people giving their lives in order for you to sit on your golden soapboxes, I would expect you to behave with more humility, more honesty, and more integrity.

Let’s hold people accountable.

Related articles

• Goodbye Gabby Giffords (bilerico.com)
• The AC360 Weekly Buzz: State of the Union, Gabby Giffords, Egypt, Romney, Gingrich, Oscars (ac360.blogs.cnn.com)
• Speaker Boehner Sheds Tears After Embracing Gabby Giffords (mediaite.com)

Pregnancy test

This is a guest post by my wife, Annie, to go with the post I had written a couple weeks back about our miscarriage:

I wrote this about a month ago, just to chronicle what was happening in our life. I’m not as much of a writer as Matt is, but I wanted to get my thoughts and feelings down on paper as we were going through things. As you know from Matt’s posts, we recently went through a miscarriage. Not to keep talking about it forever and ever, but turns out it’s pretty common and we want to shed some light on it. I wanted to share my thoughts and feelings here, with you, as part of the journey that Matt has shared with you. I also wanted to thank this community for all of the support that you’ve given us through this, and other things. It’s appreciated and felt more than you could ever know! So, here goes…

Another chapter in our life has ended…or started, depending on how you look at things. In early December, I had my last glass of wine for a spell, knowing that in the morning I would take a pregnancy test to confirm what I already knew was happening somewhere inside of me. From that confirmed moment, our world completely changed its entire rotation! We’re having a baby!

It took a day or two to really sink in, and then, after telling friends and family, we were floating on a big pouffy cloud of dreams. We talked and talked and covered it all; from changing diapers to who’d get to hold the baby more to how we’d take “him” with us on adventures and show him the world through our eyes.

I could feel it…my whole belly felt alive! It’s sort of possible that some of that was in my head, but maybe not. I felt a feeling that I can’t really put into words here, but will try; magical, special, responsible, beautiful, miraculous, capable, awe-some, humbled.

As wonderful as I felt, I also knew that there was the possibility that I could miscarry. After all, it’s pretty common especially in women that get pregnant at an “older” age. I turned 40 in December, so that puts me in the older category, even though I feel like I’m 25 on the inside!

On a Monday, a few weeks ago our fears were confirmed that I had miscarried. I had some mild cramping and bleeding and then, poof! Our magical, special little package was gone.

Here’s an excerpt that I wrote as this was all happening….

“I’ve been having some cramping and bleeding. I’m scared to death that I might miscarry, but have been assured by google and friends that it’s “normal”. My logical mind tells me that everything happens for a reason, my body will take care of things, I can’t change this outcome at this point. Hmmm, so we wait. We wait to see if this too shall pass and the pregnancy continues, or if it doesn’t and we have a miscarriage to work through. We’re logical people. We know the odds…my age, as well as general statistics say it’s completely common for me to miscarry. I don’t buy it. I don’t want to miscarry. I’m strong, I’m healthy, my body has always served me well and has never let me down. Why should it now? We deserve this, right? We’ve waited so long in our lives to have a child and here we are; faced with the chance of losing our little, tiny miracle. It’s the size if a pea, but has already had more impact on our lives than any other thing ever has.”

I felt an emptiness, not like and aching or anything, just missing that magical special feeling that I got to experience for a week and a half. I was sad, I was disappointed, but most of all, I was okay. Sound weird? Yeah, it might…but honestly, I felt at peace with it. I cried and all that and wondered what happened to make the baby not stay, but I knew I was okay, I knew we were okay, I knew that when things aren’t meant to be, it’s okay to let the dream fly away. There will be another opportunity for me to carry a magical special package when the stars align and things are just right in the world. Then we’ll meet…that baby and us. We’ll look into each other’s eyes and know that we we’re in this together, all three of us.

The funny thing about this miscarrying deal to me is just how common it seems to be. It might just be me, but I never knew that just about everybody we’ve come across has been touched in some way by miscarriage. Maybe I wasn’t listening, but my gut tells me that it’s just something people don’t really talk too much about, not like a dirty secret or anything, just one of those sad and unfortunate facts of life. It makes me want to talk about it more, makes me want to make it known that it’s part of the life process, part of the getting pregnant process. It’s kind of like when you get married and go through all the fluffy wedding hoopla and excitement and then nobody tells you that you and your handsome new hubby might not like each other every minute of every day. That’s just a fact of life, and the sooner you come to peace with that fact, the easier it is to negotiate.

I don’t mean to say that we should focus on the negative things in life, but I just feel like if we bring these kinds of things out into the open then they’re not hidden in the dark anymore and we can actually see what they look like. It’s like they say…we fear the unknown because it’s just that, unknown! Now that we’ve gone through this miscarriage, I know what we’re dealing with as we move forward. We have a whole different outlook on this “get pregnant” thing. Don’t get me wrong, I knew that there could be difficulties, but what we see out in the world are happy, glowing pregnant people with big bellies that we all want to rub, right? We don’t see all the other stuff that potentially goes along with it.

So here we go, moving along on our adventure through life and if the baby gods grace us with a successful pregnancy then we’ll happily take that path. If it’s just not in the cards for us then we’ll have this experience to take with us on a different path. Either way, we’re happy, healthy, and will continue to move through this very interesting life!

Related articles

• Miscarriages Suck (just stating the obvious) (matthewliberty.com)

Help is hard to say eh??

I will preface this post with: I am not trying to solicit anything or anyone, I’m not that kind of person. I thought this would be the best way to simply get the word out rather than trying to email and all that good stuff. Next week my posts will go back to the normal in depth and motivational stuff I prefer doing. Thank you.

You want to hear something crazy? Sure you do…this post is harder to write and publish than the one I did about my past with depression.

Funny how the human mind works.

I’ve not been one to ask for help…never really have been with few exceptions. I’ve spent a bulk of my life trying to do for myself and help others when I can, it’s just who I am. For some reason asking others for help was/ is a sign of weakness; like you aren’t capable on your own.

Trust me when I say that I understand how illogical that thought is because how many people make it from day one to the day of their death without help? None!

So here is what I’m putting out there to the world…and if you have followed much of what I’ve discussed on this blog or what Annie and I have discussed on our other blog you will understand.

(drum roll)

I am looking to transition into a new business and…I would like your help!

You see…this past couple years has been a big growing time for me personally as well as Annie and I together. I am looking to put myself in a place where I can help more people, create more relationships, network with and connect people, and use my skills of engagement and research to help others.

The bigger goals have been to lighten the load…move into a smaller house, next goal is to get rid of everything out of the storage unit, get rid of this business that has been more of a monkey on my back versus fulfilling (although I am VERY thankful for my path and this business I started in 2006), and let go of negativity.

I want to travel lightly through this life and with Annie’s willingness and eagerness to do the same it has been a blast to move toward a more minimalist lifestyle.

Stop rambling Matt and ask for the help already! Okay, got it.

I specifically want to use my six years of business ownership, my three years of social media experience, my two years of blogging experience, and all my years of connecting and engaging with people to consult small to medium size brands with their online presence. This goes much deeper than just social media (Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, blogging, etc.), it comes down to defining the story and the goals for a brand and deducing what the best path forward is online for each individual brand.

New chapters, winds of change, and all that good stuff.

So I am asking if you or anyone you know could use a social media manager, marketer, consultant, or brand ambassador…I would absolutely love to chat!!

Cheers and thank you!

Not a very happy factory worker!

One of the biggest killers of creativity is “the real world”…we get bogged down in this world we have created full of mindless work, mundane activities, and lack of physical and mental exercise.

The only thing that spurs creativity is change. When you read a new book, read an interesting blog post, get challenged by someone else’s ideas, see a new movie, eat at a new place, hike a new trail, sit by the ocean and breathe it in, listen to new music, or try a new activity is when your brain is forced to push the boundaries currently set up.

I remember back when I lived in Kentucky and worked in a factory, it was one of the least creative periods in my life…factory work nearly killed me!

My thought is that most of us are doing “factory” work…sure, we’re doing stuff…we’re selling that house, painting that house (in my case), designing that website, collecting that trash, and doing that paperwork…but seriously, does any of that matter?

Yes, it does to some degree and I’m not here to debate the degree. What I’m talking about is satisfaction and fulfillment. People generally get satisfaction when they love what they do and some people may very well love their “factory” job but if they do it’s probably because they found a way to have it mean something to them to their core. In that case though, they found a way to have that be important and fulfilling to them.

I’m referring to the fact that most people do not feel happy and passionate about what they do, which in turn, kills desire, drive, motivation, and creativity. THAT is what needs to be fixed!

Should everyone be passionate about what they do? Can everyone be? The answers are no, it won’t happen. All I am doing is trying to impact those that are on the cusp…those that may find these words that I’m choreographing in this article. Are they put together in such a way that makes you think?

And this ties in with my point…there are two things that get me over the top super amped; one is social media and the endless amazement I find (mainly the people) via its tools everyday and second…attempting to help people in any way that I have the power to. That may be through connecting two people that can be of value to one another, it may be through my thoughts and writings, it may be from a motivational status update I put on Facebook. This is not “factory work”, this is what and who I am.

I found a place I feel I belong. I now have tools at my disposal (my blog- a place to publish my thoughts, and things like Facebook and Twitter to spread them) that allow me to work toward these things that get me out of the factory mentality and into a place of attempting to do social good and work on my life project (or legacy).

And that’s what I want for you. Life in the factory (figuratively and literally) can provide an okay life, but the factories are falling by the wayside. We live in an idea time, a creativity time. If you want that new restaurant you opened to succeed…you need to be creative. If you want that new wine tasting room you opened to succeed you have to be creative. We can blame the economy or whatever else is convenient but my thought is that we are simply at another shift in our country, heck even internationally. I am not sure what they’ll call this but we had an Industrial Revolution and now, maybe it’s the Idea Revolution or the Creative Revolution or the Social Revolution.

There are problems that need solving: education, economy, unemployment, and government reform…is your factory (again, factory meaning literally a factory or the mental factory you work in) job going to solve these issues? No. We are in a new time of Occupy movements, the Arab Spring, internet and social media revolutions…whether you are for or against does not matter…this IS where we ARE.

And we need creative people to step out from the factory mentality and find something they are super passionate about fixing or solving and do it. What’s your cause? What pisses you off? What are you waiting for?

There has never been a better time in the history of the world to be a creative, outside the box thinker…and we are in a time that needs that badly. So if you’re passionate about coffee and the art of coffee making than be a barista or if you’re passionate about ending hunger than get to it.

Even if you sit at home and start expressing your creatively original thoughts and ideas on how to fix something and post it to a blog…that’s better than sitting on the couch eating Fritos and watching mindless hours of crap on television. You choose your legacy!

What’s it going to be?

What version are you?

Annie and I had an amazing night out last night, as we often do; we set out to meet up with a friend and through the evening ended up running into about 10 or 15 other people we know. I also had the opportunity to meet a couple of new people during the day and saw them that evening; they strike me as people that could become very cool new friends. It was a night like so many others when we go out.

My point to all this rambling is that I don’t deserve this life I have. I don’t deserve this army of amazing people in my life that are so diverse, brilliant, funny, and talented. I could go on for days about how involved, caring, and supportive the people in our lives are; it truly is unbelievable to me. Annie is only the most incredible person I know and without question she’s the one that unlocked all the doors in my world…and I don’t deserve that either.

Trust me, this isn’t a pity party or a poor me moment at all. It’s my journey, this is who I am… and I am trusting myself enough to write this and publish it.

So what is this about?

It’s about the journey, the path, the road that we each take…no two roads alike but the common denominator is that we are each on one. We have each felt hurt and pain that still lives inside and we’ve each felt joy (I hope) that was indescribable.

Some of us are living mundane journeys, some of us are hiding problems we are going through, some of us are wondering why things aren’t getting better, some of us are feeling alone, some of us can’t pick ourselves back up, some of us are tired…

…and some of us are living a content and happy life, some of us are upbeat and positive, some of us just found out some great news, some of us don’t have a worry in the world right now.

This is a tragically delicious road chock full of serendipity.

So why don’t I deserve this? I don’t know, it’s just how I feel sometimes; whether it was the words tossed my way growing up, the quiet neglect, or my own self image…or all three of these things, and I am sure that I’m not alone. One thing that has changed is my reaction to this thought of not deserving, and that is to not sabotage myself like I use to, and instead be in this moment here and now. I have been unable to rid myself of this personality glitch but I was able to change my perspective, I now use this glitch as a way to become far more appreciative of where I am rather than allow that glitch to disrupt the good.

So, this is not a sad tale, it’s one of personal growth and learning. We don’t always know what is happening beneath the waters, but to me that is where life is. I am on a journey within the journey to care less about the shiny exterior and more about the imperfect, distressed interior. Life is what happens when a ripple is made in those calm waters, life is what happens beneath the surface…and it starts with me. If I can grow and learn, shift perspectives, and be better every day for me, then that only makes Annie’s life better and those friends I spoke of earlier.

By doing what I’m doing to make me better, I am in turn making that world around me better for the people that choose to be in my community and allow me in theirs. Isn’t that the goal? To improve upon who we are and what we are doing?

A good analogy would be phones; they continue to improve, from the rotary phone I remember as a kid to the incredible smart phones we have today. As humans we should be doing the same thing…making tweaks and adjustments along the way to be better for ourselves and others, continuously making better “versions” of us. This will be my journey until I die, and there’s nothing I want more than to up the ante, push the limits, and continue to upgrade myself to the next version.

So, thanks to Annie for being so supportive of me while I am on this rather philosophical road, it’s one I veered away from for many years but it is where I am comfortable…and she helped me get back to it. I’m also super stoked to have my circle of friends, my community of cool people…you guys push me constantly and make me think. And even though I don’t feel worthy of all the “blow me outta the water” good shizzle in my life, I’ve learned to be okay with it and embrace it to some degree.

I hope you’re finding the path for yourself, with the right perspective and shifting it truly is amazing.

Related articles

• BREAKING NEWS: I’m Going To Be A Dad (matthewliberty.com)
• Follow Up To “I’m Going To Be A Dad” (matthewliberty.com)
• Miscarriages Suck (just stating the obvious) (matthewliberty.com)

Love it when the lightbulb goes off! Epiphany!

I think each one of us is a diamond in the rough. Our actions and choices determine whether we will stay in the rough, or come out of that and shine.

Life can be very difficult, I get that. Really bad things can happen to really good people, I get that too. The point is, life happens, with or without you�it just does. Even though this is super easy to understand, I struggled with this for a long time�and I know millions of other people do too.

I was constantly butting heads with life, not understanding why I was dealt this hand and not that one or not given that opportunity. This behavior is pretty typical for people in general but when you suffer from depression, like I did/ do, fighting things you have no control over is a complete waste of valuable energy and time. Doing this sent me down the rabbit�s hole more often than not and once I get down there, it�s a battle to come back; which is why it is so important for me to avoid the traps.

The biggest trap I�ve learned to avoid is fighting the things that I cannot change. I can�t change the fact that there are idiot drivers out there that don�t use their turn signals or that cut me off. I can�t change when the sun rises and sets. I can�t change the miscarriage we went through. I can�t change that I have something like depression. I can�t change yesterday.

How crappy is that? You mean I have to just deal with all that? The quick answer is yes.

No wonder people are angry and disillusioned. No wonder people get so frustrated and give up. No wonder there�s so much violence and crime. No wonder people don�t smile at each other and say hello on the streets. Life sucks; and to top it all off we are shown how much more it sucks every time we turn on the news. We have wars, Sandusky, Wiener politicians, corruption, greedy jack holes, a broken government, crappy economy�are you feeling good yet?

It�s so hard to put a smile on your face when you look at the overwhelming piles of dung being shoveled on to us minute by minute, day after day�but then something struck me, it was genius!

I can choose how I react to all of this that I can�t change!

Simple but true, and quite difficult to enact and be consistent with but there it is�don�t let all the crap, all the horrible things going on around you own YOUR thoughts, ideas, life, or mood. You want to fight for something? Fight for your life, do whatever you have to do to shine through all the darkness.

I can�t change the news but I can turn my television off. I can�t change that it�s cold outside but I can enjoy it for what it is and realize the temperature will be different tomorrow, next week, or next month. I can�t change those people that won�t smile at me on the streets but I can smile at them. I can�t change Sandusky but I can fight for children if that�s a cause near and dear to me. I can�t change that cracker jack driver in front of me not using his turn signal but I can realize that maybe it�s broken or possibly he is distracted because his dad or son just died.

Life is about perspective. Life is about owning your thoughts.

Nobody can make you feel a certain way unless you give them the right to do so.

This new way of thinking was the most eye opening, empowering, and liberating thing so far in my 35 years. It has helped immensely with the depressions stuff so long as I am on top of things and remind myself that I own that moment and my thoughts. This way of thinking has helped me spend more days out of the rough, and more days shining. That�s the goal right? We can�t stay out of the rough every single day forever, but we can fight for the shine! How bad do you want it?

Just a pretty picture to make you feel cozy!

I do often sit and wonder how I ended up where I am today. You may ask yourself, “Hmm, what is he talking about, where did he end up?” Well, I’ll tell you. Today I own a few small businesses, I live in the wine country of Paso Robles, CA., I have absolutely amazing friends, the family I’m close with is great, I’m healthy, and I’m married to a really incredible person that is patient, capable, hard working, loving, and creative. Even typing this out makes me wonder how in the world I, of all people, am so fortunate to be this happy!

Why?

Because I never had any real direction, I grew up in not so ideal family situations, I’m not close with certain family members that everyone should be, I’ve had my issues with self sabotage and self destruction, I spent 10 to 15 years hating myself and thinking I was worthless, and the past ten years trying to climb out of all that and the abyss of some form of depression that apparently ran/ runs in parts of my family.

Don’t get me wrong, I am writing about this because I know each and every one of us has stuff we deal with that we do not like to say out loud…maybe we’re embarrassed or ashamed, maybe we don’t want to burden others…whatever that reason, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that we each go through things in this life, but it isn’t about those things, it’s about how we recover from those things.

I really don’t want to freak anyone out, but I know we live in a different world…as you are reading this you have not fully invested yourself into my words yet. So I feel obligated to get you to dive into this with me, and the only way I know how to do that is to tell you something about me that almost nobody knows and that will punch you in the brain. This may or may not be my worst moment, but I just wanted to put something on the table so you can get eye to eye with me right now.

Ready?

Twice in my life I have had a loaded gun in my mouth, both instances took place about 10 years ago (or more) and I have not felt that way since then. And after reading this you either feel uncomfortable or more connected, hopefully more curious. Am I embarrassed? No. Am I ashamed? No. It is part of my life and has helped shape me into the person that I am proud to be today. I think we would all be surprised at how many people have had feelings like that or have taken a step to do something to themselves…not to mention the actual numbers of suicides that have taken place. Astonishing numbers all the way around.

The point in bringing any of this up is this…we each have a unique life experience that we learn from and gather certain knowledge from; I firmly believe each one of us can help someone…but the only way for that to happen is to talk about things. Just as I spoke candidly in a prior post about my wife and I having a miscarriage, I am speaking openly here now, about another issue…depression. Although, this isn’t just about depression, it’s about helping people and motivating people.

Just as in a marriage, I think there always has to be someone capable of carrying the weight when the other one is not up to par. I think this goes for society in general…especially in the communities we each build (be it online or off line) and live in on a day to day basis…otherwise referred to as our circle.

The purpose of the post was to put another personal nugget of info out there for you to chew on. If my words are helpful fantastic, if I made you think about the issue great, or if you trust me more now after hearing this that too is fine.

When you’re going about your day, try to be nice. I fail at this from time to time…I get the road rage thing and whatever, but I always try to catch myself and realize that I have not walked a mile in that dudes Nike’s, and until I do I really should give him some good old fashion patience. Each one of us has the power and the ability to put this small action into play. Kindness, courage, understanding, and patience will get you farther in life than frustration, anger, and self hate…this I promise you.
So do me, you, and the rest of the world a big favor…be a little easier on those people you come into contact with in the world, and more importantly, be a little easier on yourself!

P.S. I have been fortunate the last ten years to have chosen to take the journey into why and what goes on with me, I advise everyone to do so. Through conversation, reading, discovering, and writing I have been able to deal with my personal issues with the world. I did not want to take the route of using medication, so I fought that much harder to find my own techniques to cope…it has honestly been the most amazing (and painful) journey, I would not change it for anything.

That journey has made me someone that reflects, thinks, and wants to motivate myself and you to do something bigger and better. I have my bad moments now and again, but my lows now are a thousand times less low then they use to be…and the really cool thing is that my highs are so much higher. As I have said before, life is good when we get out of the way and let it be! Cheers!

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• Behind The Smiles…Life (matthewliberty.com)

There…I said it. And so many people will think that this title is too abrasive or too blunt, but I ask you, can you say it doesn’t suck? Cancer sucks right? And there are a bunch of other things that suck too but maybe stating it that way isn’t the popular route and I simply don’t care about popular. I am here to voice my thoughts and add value by doing so. How? Because there are a handful of people out there that think like me and I’m willing to be the spoken or written voice for them and attempt to motivate
them toward a higher thinking on certain issues.

So…down to the nitty gritty. Annie and I were pregnant, and then we weren’t…due to a miscarriage. It was her first time, and mine, being pregnant and evidently this miscarriage thing is as common as leaves falling off the trees in autumn. Annie is about to be 40 and I am 35, yet we have been absolutely blown away by how common this is…astounded even. From published statistics to what a doctor has stated, it seems 30% to 50% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage…many of those are miscarriages women have prior to even knowing they are pregnant.

I’m not a doctor, and I don’t want to be one so we’ll stick to the opinion and emotion side of things. When we found out we were having a baby we were scared for a few hours and then we remembered that we had planned this. We were extremely excited, along with slightly nervous and anxious, but the amazing reaction from family and friends online and off line was beyond words…you guys made us feel so loved and cared about that we thought how amazing it was going to be to have a baby with all of you on the journey with us.

Then, it happened…a miscarriage. Annie has had some emotion over it for very obvious reasons…I did as well, although, after thinking about it for half a day or so we realized that there was one bad thing from this and numerous good things. The bad thing was the miscarriage itself…the good things were 1) we found out all of our plumbing works 2) we found out how supported we were by you guys and how loved that baby would be 3) how much closer Annie and I felt 4) that miscarriage is extremely common so women should not feel guilt or fault and 5) we feel this one may not have been meant to be (the whole nature thing you know?).

Bottom line is this…if you’ve gone through a miscarriage…we now know how you feel and you’re not alone. As I stated above this is a SUPER common thing, it’s still sad but take solace in that. Lastly, even though I am not the most positive person ALL the time, I keep trying to focus on those things that I have power over versus things I do not. I have the power to focus on the negative thing, in this case the miscarriage, or I can attempt to focus my thoughts on all those positive things I shared above. Life is good when we get out of the way and let it be…listen to my words or don’t, I just ask that you find comfort in something…share your story, focus on family and friends, focus on your significant other…there is comfort to be found, so find it.

P.S. I really do want to send a very sincere thank you to the hundreds of people that commented on the news of us being pregnant, and all those hundreds of people that did so again when they heard the not great news of miscarriage. Your support has been truly beyond words. The power of a community is fantastically outstanding!

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I like Christmas too, but it's not about wasting time and money.

Why in the world do we waste our time sending “Holiday” cards to people?

This, along with all the money spent on Christmas gifts and similar things, seems to be one of the most wasteful and very American things we do. After reading a recent blog post on HBR, it reminded me of how my wife and I have stopped doing presents for everyone except children. As for cards…we do them if we think about it and feel like doing it.

My first problem with all the presents and cards throughout the year is simply the money spent, rather wasted, that could be going toward something more important. And don’t forget the money on stamps and shipping…wow, I would hate to know how much I’ve spent in my life.

The second issue I have with it is watching how so many people get insanely stressed out over picking out presents and making sure everyone including the milkman, get one; not to mention the stress so many feel after spending all that money.

Third, the time involved in all this nonsense. Time is our most valuable commodity…and I do not want to spend my time on this kind of thing anymore.

Look, I don’t need more crap to put on a shelf or hang on a wall. I don’t tic tacs or packs of gum in a stocking. It’s not cute or fun. All the “special” days we have on the calendar in a year are for children, under the age of 15…or whatever cap you want to put on it. I can see sending someone a birthday I suppose, so they know you’re thinking about them but I am just as happy with a Facebook or email Happy Birthday wish.

Time should be the gift we can give…spend one on one time with those you care about; and not just at Christmas, it should be any time of year. But we should also be sending random notes, emails, or cards to people at non-Holiday times…wouldn’t that show you care more than simply sending something when you are “suppose to”?

The biggest thing for me, at this point in my life…is that Holidays are about family and friends gathering, laughing, eating, and drinking. It’s about the connectedness, not the stuff! Send me an email not a card, let’s put the post office out of business.

As a follow up to my last post, which was my most read and most commented on post ever, I thought I’d share some thoughts and some news.

First off, it is our goal to share our journey from now until birth and after, on social media and using social media platforms. One of the things that means is that Annie and decided to start a “parenting/ family/ life” blog in which we will have individual posts documenting out respective thoughts and opinions as we adventure through this new phase, as well as share photos and video. We will release that website name here pretty soon so follow along with that to see that aspect of our life.

Second, we will continue our wine blog, which is actually a wine/ food/ Paso Robles/ travel/ lifestyle blog, but obviously the drinking will be left up to me…tough job but someone has to do it. Annie, of course, can comment on the smell of wine and her thoughts on all the other things we cover on our Hoot n’ Annie blog.

Finally, some personal thoughts from me since releasing the news on Friday that we’re expecting a baby. I (and Annie as well) was absolutely shocked and overwhelmed at the response from off line and online friends and family. It was overwhelmingly emotional for me to see this outpouring of “Likes”, Facebook comments, Twitter comments, blog comments, emails, phone calls, and so on…that emotion turned to tears as I realized that not only are Annie and I surrounded by some of the most amazing and loving people, but our baby will be too…makes me teary eyed now just thinking about that. So, from the bottom of my heart, I truly thank each of you that expressed your thoughts via online or off line.

After the first 12 to 24 hours of feeling stunned and speechless, Annie and I have entered this place of calm and peace. We have been more tired than normal…probably due to the emotional highs we have been feeling since finding out, but we are so immensely happy and grateful. Even though this was planned, the emotions aren’t…and the reactions from all of you were truly unexpected and I think that added to the “HOLY COW” aspect of what we were experiencing.

I am a very opinionated person, although I attempt to keep those opinions to myself when I can…with that comes a certain kind of sentimentality, sensitivity, etc.; and that’s why I continue to be a “deer in the headlights” when it comes to all the well wishes and excitement that others have shown with our news. My hope is that each of you will choose to be part of this journey with us, it would mean a lot to us and for baby one day when he/ she can look back at our blogs or our Facebook timelines and see all the love and joy and awesomeness that you guys bring to the table.

So, thank you again, sincerely…no words can describe how YOU made Annie and I feel when the news came out. Thank you thank you thank you!!

We should be letting the new website out shortly, and will announce that via Facebook, Twitter, and here. Thanks again, cheers!!

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