My Decade by the Numbers

1 -- Wife. Still puts up with my "quirks." Not the clinical term.  

2 -- Children born. Tess is now 7, Ella 11.

11 -- Kids' Birthday parties

3 -- Minutes I can stand being at Chuck E. Cheese before I order my first beer.

8 -- Father's Days

10 -- Wedding anniversaries

0 -- Forgotten wedding anniversaries. 

3 -- Towns lived in/near: Roland, Ames, Marion.

3 -- Job changes, inlcuding one promotion. I swear, it's true.

5 -- Cars owned, including a brief fling with a Dodge Stratus.

2 -- Houses purchased

10 -- Months it took to sell the first one

1 -- St. Joseph "the house seller" figurines buried in the lawn

1 -- Dogs owned. Clover turned 14 this year. Who's a good girl?

3 -- Lawnmowers

1 -- Snowblowers

3 -- Refrigerators

2 -- Laptops

1 -- Winter coats. Big green turned 12 this year. Who's a good parka?

3 -- Very large pieces of exercise equipment purchased

15 -- Net pounds I've gained since 2000

25 -- OK, actual net pounds gained since 2000

571 -- Words in my first Gazette column Oct. 2007

443 -- Words in my Dec. 31, 2009, column.

1 -- Journalism awards won

10 -- Years I tried to win  journalism awards

2 -- Governors who disliked my columns 

3 -- Blogs started. Please don't ask about "Statehouse Snippets"

0 -- Blogs that achieved widespread popularity and acclaim

Goodbye aughts. Hello teens. Happy New Year.