Still Moving Along!

We had such a great year last year with several fun short trips, and all the good times at the holidays, that we have been focusing on life in general for the last while.

The biggest events so far this year have been our taking the next step in fertility treatments, and the "Chili Bowl" chili cookoff at work.

So on the fertility front, we still don't really know if anything in particular is wrong, so it's pretty much an escalation of the general regimen, or the next step in the process, which is artificial insemination, and hormone treatments around the cycle. We're a month into the process, we'll see how things go. In a half year or so if we haven't had luck, we may take it to the next level. Still hoping to hear something on the adoption front, we have been spreading the pass-along cards and hoping for the best. We may escalate our efforts as well in a while and perhaps do some fostering. Time will tell, but we feel so, well, capable right now to be raising a family, and feel a little guilty and empty not taking on that responsibility.

The Chili Bowl at work is a yearly event started by me. This was the fourth annual installment, and I still had to make it happen. It's kind of cool, there are different people at work that have started traditions, and they sort of just keep them going. Mike with Moustache March, Nicole with the Pumpkin Dessert contest. We are always so busy these days that only tradition carries on, everything else is left by the wayside.

This year there were 21 chili entries, and they were ALL good, except one which was labeled "Hormel", and the judges banned it from future cookoffs. People had always threatened to put mass produced chili in a crockpot, and this year someone actually did it. It really was stunning the difference. All I know is that engineers are darned good chili cooks! At least the ones at our office! I have posted a few pictures (click for more detail):


The judges, well, judged during the 30 minutes before the general consumption began. Nicole was categorizing the entries. I am on the left in my obligatory bright shirt and Tabasco hat.



The conference room during general consumption. We have so many more people than four years ago! This is a high participation event, I mean, chili is so good, so universal.


The chilis themselves, ravaged.

It was a great time this year.

Following the chili bowl was February. During this month I, Daniel, crawled into a hole and didn't come out for three weeks. There was a big delivery and all I did was work, work, work, racking up almost double time on billable hours for three weeks straight. I am still recovering. I can say, however, that I do enjoy what I work on, it is interesting, fulfilling, and challenging. I can say that now that I have mostly recovered, anyway.