A Modern Day Love Story!! 2+2+4 and Counting

For the friends that know us hear is a little insight about the beginning. Enjoy.

This story starts about 8 years ago. This starts in a little place called North Ridgeville Ohio. I saw this beautiful girl in the hallway. And I though to my self that I would love to get to know that girl. It was kind of nice that I had friend that had a locker next to hers and also a class with her. This girl was a transfer to this school from a different place. I have never seen this girl before our junior year in high school. I saw her and I immediately had to talk to her.I thought that she was amazingly HOTT!!. The problem with me talking to her was that I am really really shy when I get out of my comfort zone (surprising to those that know me well). The good thing was that I had a friend that was in the same class as hers and I had a study hall right next door to where she was taking class. The ironic thing was that I went to my coaches room which is right next to the math class she was taking a makeup test at. I had a crazy feeling that it just felt right and that I was going to spend the rest of my life with this girl. We hit it off and had tons of stuff in common. It is really crazy to think that 7.5 years into our relationship And 4 years into our wonderful marriage I think that I love that girl more know than I did back than. My feelings have never changed for her. We have gotten more mature and thus our feelings and love for one another has gotten more loving and deeper as well. Fast forward to December 2004, we have been together almost 2 years and I figured it was time to make our future "official" so I pick out a ring, took her father to lunch, planned a perfect date in Downtown Cleveland and ask this beautiful girl to marry me, in front of a crowd in Downtown Cleveland in the winter in front of the Christmas tree in public square after that we take a perfect carriage ride around downtown Cleveland to put a perfect ending to an already perfect night. October 14, 2006 is a date that I will remember forever. This is the day that my life really became complete. I married my best friend, my LATA, my wife. It was a perfect fall day with love and friends all around. That day will be a day that will forever be engrained in my mind. Did I mention that she made a really hott bride!! Let's fast forward again 4 more years. On this week of our 4th wedding anniversary, I am constantly reminded of how beautiful my wife is inside and out. She always makes me fell like the most important person. Its amazing how fast 4 years of marriage flies by let alone 8 years. Amanda makes it so easy to love her. It has been on heck of a journey that we have both been on together. I want to thank my LATA for making this journey so much fun. I look forward to many more anniversaries.

24+ years of Perspective

One the eve if this remarkable journey i am going to take you through what i have learned in the past 25 years (yes that's right I'm only 25). i feel like i have accomplished so much in the first two and a half decades i have been on this earth. I have experienced joy, misery, defeat, happiness, pain, heartache, and love. I have learned about critical things in my life that have made me the person that I am today. I have learned many things in Life i am going to try and elaborate on a few of them here.

1) Failure is only an option if you don't try. I used to be afraid to fail in my life but than if you don't try and take a risk than you are really a failure for not trying new things. When people would ask me what i was most afraid of i would say failure But now i realized it is just the Failure to try to take a risk.

2) Friends- some will leave some will stay. the ones that are real stick around through the good and the bad and know everything about you and still talk to you like you are "fairly" normal.

3) Love- Love is a risk that every person should make. Because if you miss out on love you will miss out on Life.

These Next three are the most critical ones that i have learned about, some of these are always going to be a work in progress but its a goal that is worth working towards that will make you feel like you can actually grasp life and get a lot out of it.

4) Fun- You can not go through life working yourself to death. That's not Fun. If you cant finish it today finish it tomorrow (Thanks Frank). Life is to short to have a dead line especially when our life is full of them. Try and do something new with a friend or a spouse, girlfriend even by yourself. Try something new once a month. It may feel forced and weird at first but you will warm up to the idea. Pretty soon you will be looking for different things to do and everything that you do will be fun.

5) PPT- (power of positive thinking)- this is my own little creation. One day I thought to myself, Self what can I do to make people's day better? Ding Ding, I thought whats a better way than to show everyone that positive energy is a good thing to have and that it really does do a better good than frowning. I go through the day and when anybody asks me how are you? I say I'm great its beautiful outside isn't it? and they get kind of taken back by that. It's a really good feeling to know that just by smiling and being positive it really makes the day go by a lot better.

6) Faith- This is the one that i am still working on ( well i guess everyone is working on this one until that point in time comes). But i have seen amazing things happen when you have faith, I have seen a lot of broken people pick them self up just be believing and getting there life back on track. I have seen people fall hard from not having any faith and thinking that they can do with out. They were wrong i was wrong before i got baptized. My life never would have turned out the way that it did if it wasn't for the day I got baptized I am still a work in progress.

I hope that the Next twenty five years of my life are as fun and fulfilling as my first twenty five were. Thanks, and always remember PPT (Power of Positive Thinking)


PS if you didn't get it My Birthday is June 15th. Thanks again.

3 years and a whole lot of fun.

I cant believe that it is that time of year again. that time where the air smells just a little bit different the tree in your yard looks a little bit oranger and barer with each passing day. Its that time of year where the shorts and flip-flops get put away and the jeans and sweatshirts get put on. This is that time of year for everybody else. For me this time is all those things but for me it is just a little bit more than that.

This Wednesday Oct. 14 I will be CELEBRATING my 3rd wedding anniversary. My Lata and I have spent the Last year growing with each other on our relationships with god each other and everyone around us. My Lata is truly a blessing in my life. With out her in my Life I would not be the person i am today. Our wedding anniversary is a very special time for me because we get to reflect on the last year in particular but get to touch base on the past 3+ years as well. Amanda has always been my biggest fan and i cant give her enough credit but she has been there through these past twelve months right by my side.

Someone once said that Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Well whoever said that is a smart man because, when I spent nine days apart from my wife. I can honestly say that those 9 days were brutal not like I didn't know what to do but the fact that i was alone at night for the first time in our marriage for more than 1-2 days.

In the three years that we have been married we have Done and accomplished so much. we Moved To NC, She got a new job (twice), Saw the Mountains, The Beach. Mickey and Minnie, Buzz, Dolphins with some friends, Ran a Half Marathon, Got a dog,Saw the Mall and Abe, Said I love you Everyday, Thought about the small things, Reminisce about the old times, bought a house, met a whole lot of people we love, and saw new life come into this world. It has been a wonderful 3 years and I know that we will enjoy many, many more.

This Anniversary is really special to me because it gets us closer to our goal 60 years. I hope that 60 years from know that she knows i will be as madly in love with her as i am right know as she reads this post. I love you my LATA have a wonderful Day!!!!

My new office 2

My New OSU office

Tonight is the Night

Tonight is the night that i cannot sleep. it is probably because i miss my wife. I am boring without her she is half of me. This is the longest we have been apart in 6 years together. Crazy I know but i miss her after only three days. Its not really the days its the nights after i get home from work and am relaxing for the evening I don't have that pretty face that looks at me just like she did 6 years ago. a face that i still see till this day. I hope that I never take that face or our time for granted. So tonight is the first night that I cannot sleep when we are apart. Know don't get me wrong i get up early for work and by the time 9 even 10 o'clock comes i am really trying to keep my lids open. I just hope that Monday comes faster than I think it will. I love you babe have fun.

Where would you be!!!!

Where would you be in your life without that "one" person. You know that one person that made a difference in your life. That one person that would always tell you that what you're doing is probably not a good idea. That person where without them you don't know where your life would have ended up. I can honestly say I don't know where in my life would be without that's right my wife Amanda. I definitely don't know where I would be in my life and where I would be living or working for that matter. I would not even be working for this company if it wasn't for Amanda and her family. She has been such an inspiration to me in my walk of faith and my professional life. If it wasn't for Amanda then I definitely would not be in the position that I am in right know I would not have a house and I would not be married to such an amazing women. so for that I am truly grateful that she was taking a test in the hallway next to me. She has been so encouraging to me to go for my dreams and to excel at the highest level. She has always been my biggest fan and someday I hope to return the favor. her family has been so wonderful as well without them i wouldn't know what real compassion and true love really was. They really helped mold me into the man I am today. My family did things for me that no one else ever could/will. they showed me things not to do. it is kind of the polar opposite if what I was talking about before. some people in my family are alcoholics, some family members lost their jobs because of that. One of my family members married for money. He's now divorced (for the third time). most of these things are bad but I'm definitely not going to lose my job due to alcohol or even become an alcoholic because i have seen first hand what it can do to a family. Family is everything and i love all of my family and i am glad they are my family because with them i would not be Michael Baumann.

Perception on the Future!!!

Most of you that know me know that I do not hold that precious college degree. I don't know why I never got it right out of high school. wait yeah I do I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life except be with my than girlfriend (who is now my wife) and work. I guess I never really had a passion for school or what it had to offer. I didn't want to just get a college degree because that is what you do after high school. If I ever so chose to get my degree it would have to be for something that I am really passionate about and can see my self doing for the rest of my life. It would have to be something that i would not call a job but my "destiny" or my "dream". Well folks I believe I have found that it factor that I have been searching for. A Mighty business Degree with a sports Management Minor to go along with it. that means I will be able fulfill my dream of working for a professional sports team. This decision has been three years in the making and my wife asking me what i want to do later in life (which i have yet to thank her for). this seemed like the perfect road for me to go down. If you know me well than you know that i love sports with a passion not just one or two but a lot or different ones. this is just what i am looking for. maybe i will even be able to work for that mighty four letter network. This will take a lot of time and effort on my part and a lot of sacrifice on Amanda's part. but in the end it will all work out for the better.

Amanda's Piano

Here is a new blog

This blog is sports related but i would appreciate it if you guys could read this and leave a comment or two when i update.

http://sportsporch.blogspot.com/

Check this out

This is my new sports blog Check it out if you want.
http://sportsporch.blogspot.com/

A fans perspective on steroids

I am a fan of all sports especially Football and Baseball which are the two most talked about sports for steroids and HGH. Steroids in sports are illegal and i know that and these players know that as well. The best time to watch baseball was when Slammin Sammy and Mark Mcgwire were hitting homer for homer in 1998 both eclipsing Roger Maris's unheralded record of 61 homers in a single season. For me that was fun seeing all those home runs hit. I know that they test players for steroids know and there still isn't a test for HGH. The "steroid era" lasted until 2007 when Barry Bonds was indicted on charges. I know that some of the records that were broken in the ten years the"steroid era" are tainted and need to go in a different chapter in the history books. MLB didn't test for steroids heavily until 2006 and they still don't have a test for HGH but it is still Banned. Why should players get in trouble for using a banned substance when thy don't even have a test for it yet. that's like saying you cant drink and drive but if you do and get caught were not gonna give you a breathalyzer. From 2006 on I think that anyone who does fail a test needs dire consequences. anyone before than needs to fess up if you were on the Mitchell report and be forgiven. Sports fans are the most forgiving people. Tell us and get it over with, look at what is happening to Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds. The steroid era was fun to watch but the post steroid era is going to be more competitive and more on a level playing field. I am very excited about what the future holds in this post steroid era.

A Cinderella story

Do you remember in October the World Series that had two of the most unlikely teams in it? do you remember what teams they were. To refresh your memory it was the Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays. One of these teams has never been to the World Series let alone even making it over the .500 mark. Why was it such shock to the world. Because they did it with a small payroll of only 48 million dollars and than beating a team like the Redsox no less. But I believe the Rays and the Redsox have figured out the winning formula. Know don't get me wrong comparing the Redsox to the Rays is like comparing apples to oranges you just cant do it. my point is they do it with youth. They don't need a meat head that is on HGH to hit fifty home runs for them and will only play in 90-100 games. They need the youth that can give you 20-30 home runs a years and play 140-150 games a year. Know i know having a big bat helps especially in the playoffs but so does pitching and being a young pitcher. Take David Price for the Rays he was the number pick in the MLB draft and he almost single handily got the rays to the World Series. With the History of the Cardinals hanging in the balance of what is happening on Sunday. The Arizona have been statistically one of the worst franchises in the NFL since they have been in Chicago than St. Louis and than finally settling in Arizona. The Cardinals Last Championship was in 1947 not in the Super Bowl Era. Since their only championship they have really been irrelevant in the NFL. In the six-plus decades since winning the championship in 1947, the team has qualified for the playoffs only six times and has won only five playoff games, three of which were achieved during their on going run in the 2008-09 playoffs. Not a great stat to have going into this Super weekend. If they win than can history repeat itself and will it be another 67 years before another championship comes to Arizona. Its kind of nice when the underdog prevails from time to time.

Take it as you will

What does it mean to be an american in your eyes. Is it waking up free everyday, is it having the choice to read what newspaper, is it the fact that we can go anywhere in the united states and see anything and nobody says a thing. Being an american to me is seeing kids on the side of the road selling lemonade, having the opportunity to take a different job that will benefit your family. Being an american is also about living the dream. everybody's dream is different. Some people want to be millionaires, some want to be business owners or homemakers. Other people want to retire to an island or for some people they are already living the american dream. They have what they need a roof over their head and a loving family. So in 2009 i want you to think about if you are living YOUR american dream.

Out w/ the old in with the new

Welcome to 2009 (late but better late than never). I hope that 2009 brings all that you have wished and worked hard for in the new year. There are so many changes happening this year people getting married, couples having kids. The good thing about the new year is that you can almost start from scratch. there are certain things that you can forget about when that clock strikes 12. Today history was made with the inauguration of Barack Obama as our 44th president of The United States. Mr. Pres. has a tough task in front of him these next four years. i think that whether or not if we like him or not we need to support him and in four years if we don't think he has done a good enough job. than we elect somebody new. We all need to help Mr. Obama out these next four years. Good Luck MR. President and god speed.

IS IT ROCK BOTTOM

Is the Detroit lions going 0-16 rock bottom for the state of Michigan? i really hope so. Michigan has had the shortest end of the stick since this whole "recession" started its always something in Detroit. i think that they have hit rock bottom by going 0 for whatever. the only way to go know is up. Right know in this point in time i don't think that they are the worst team in the NFL right know. Detroit always get the bad wrap for having the worst economy and the worst weather, the worst sports teams. i have a feeling that this is what is going to pull Detroit out of the worst of it. I am probably being very naive about this whole thing but really can they get any worse? they can lose any more games in a single season. They only have up to look up down is not an option.

Ending of an era and the turning of the page!!!!!!!!!!!

As of this morning on Monday December 29, 2008 there is know a new era in Cleveland browns football history. That 's right folks Romeo Crennel got the boot after a 4-12 record and failed to win the last six games of the season. To be fair i know that it is not all of his fault but you cant fire an entire team. if you could than anybody not on the ir should get fired. The head coach always has his head on a chopping block. He is the first one to go when the team seems to move backwards instead of forwards. As a true sports fan i feel like romeo got a raw deal in the fact that he did what he could with what he had. three qbs get hurt two are on the ir your best receiver had a staph infection that nobody knew about. Your general manager brings in the right personnel but with a guy that cant capitalize on the talent that he has it is very hard to put together a winning strategy and let alone great team chemistry. Phil Savage also got his pink slip he actually got his before the season finale on Sunday. Who is going to be the next browns coach. Definitely not Bill Cowher who played and coached in Cleveland before going to the steelers. I think somebody with head coaching experience is a must. The Cleveland fans are to prideful to have another offensive coordinator come over and not know what to do the first three years he is hear. A college coach will not suffice either because this is a totally different game than the ones they play in the FBS. just go ask Butch Davis or "Nick I'm not going to Alabama Saban". In my opinion the Browns have the right players they just don't have the right dog running their pound. In my mind i think that the browns will look back at their history of coaches and will get a good idea of what coach they want to pursue. (Marty Schottenheimer) until next time.

Writing What I Know

Here is what i know I am a die hard Cleveland sports fan why you ask? The answer to that question will always be a little blurry. but this year the city of Cleveland has hope for a championship not the Browns or the Gladiators or even the Indians but the Cleveland Cavaliers have the chance to put Cleveland on the map and make this city in to a true believeland. The NBA season could be bitter sweet for fellow clevelanders as we may see greatness slip by us once again. after the 2010 season Lebron becomes a free agent and "wants to be a global icon" will probably move to New York and play for the newly acquired by Jayz Knicks (currently an owner of the nets). The bright side is that Dan Gilbert said he will match any offer by any team to keep Lebron in Cleveland. That is what i know. So in 2010 it could be abright Year or a really dark year.

Writers Block

Sorry to the three people that read this. I have not had any interesting thoughts lately or when I do I don't know how to type them out. I suppose that I have writers block. I have alot of ideas but when I start typing my mind goes blank. I think about what i am going to say and than when I get home ready to type nada. My blank slate stays a blank slate for another day. I don't want to force any writing out because than that is unnatural. I write what i know and very rarely do i not have any thing to say. If anybody has any advice about writers block please pass it along. Thanks and Merry Christmas. : )

OIC!!!!

if anybody who reads the title of this and knows what it means than we need to talk. This is the phrase Cleveland sports fans have been saying since 1964 that's Right almost 45 years since we have had any type of championship. OIC means Only In Cleveland. Cleveland is know the most tortured sports. There even more tortured than Detroit at least they have the pistons and the red wings.