Back when I was playing with the idea of starting a blog of my own, I struggled for a to find a “good” name for it for a while. Until, one day, I remember I was having a group-text conversation with some friends. This was a few months after our first daughter Marley was born, so a little over two years ago now. I don’t recall the exact conversation but I do remember that whatever the joke or the subject was, I didn’t get it until probably ten minutes into the conversation, I was a little lost there for a while. It was definitely one of those “oh! right!” moments. And as expected from these individuals I got a lot of crap for it. To which I said “in my defense I have had two beers and I have a Marley”. And from that little “joke” it’s how the idea of Two beers and a Marley came about.

So I created my blog and named it, Two beers and a Marley. I was probably the only one that really got the joke, some people just thought it was a cute idea or something like that. But I have rolled with my own joke for all this time, about two years or so to be exact. Here’s the thing now, we recently had our second baby, a new addition to the family. And somehow I feel like Two beers and a Marley doesn’t quite work anymore. Now I am rethinking the whole concept. I probably could still get away with the original name but for whatever reason doesn’t feel right. I have a couple of ideas that I am evaluating but nothing for sure yet. For now my Micro.blog it simply called Gabriel until I can either come up with a new name or decide to just keep using the original one.

One thing I do know for sure, it’s that I am definitely sticking with Micro.blog for my blog hosting and getting rid completely of my Wordpress account. I have sort of been maintaining both “sites” opened but I think I won’t be renewing by WP membership at the beginning of 2019.

Other things to consider in 2019:

• get rid of Facebook ?
• get rid of Instagram ?

Friday Five (plus three): Good riddance, 2018. – Gratuitous Web Presence

So, why maintain a Facebook presence, then? Although there are a bunch of “friends” (acquaintances, really) I could probably do without in my orbit, there’s a fair number of people I actually care about there, and I hesitate to cut the Facebook tether to them.

My feelings exactly.

Monday, Christmas Eve, I had a small taste of what’s to come. And most likely sooner rather than later. I was rocking my one-month-old, baby Luna, when an incident unfolded. I’m not sure of the details but all I know is that mama said no to Marley (our two-year-old) about something, therefore she comes crying to papa. So I have my 2yo crying to my face which made the 1mo to wake up. So now I have to girls literally crying and yelling at my face. Oy vey! Like I’ve said I’m sure this is just a tiny little taste of what’s to come with these two girls. 🤦🏻‍♂️

Only a few days away from the end of 2018 so I thought I’d give some sort of insight on, what has been (or ended up) in my backpack this year. My backpack of choice is the SYNAPSE 25 by TOM BIHN and I love it! It has all the space and pockets needed to fit all the items that I may or may not carry with me at all times.

A conversation my wife picked up from our two-year-old Marley and her stuffed animal on the way to Grandma’s house:

Marley: “I know baby Una (Luna) cries a lot.”

BF*: I’m sleepy

Marley: i know I’m sleepy too

*BF = Baby Fred (her fox stuffed animal to whom she’s also impersonating)

I totally stole this Kiko’s customization from Kahlil Lechelt, the “Kiko: System”. I cannot be any happier with my current setup. It is the theme/setup I didn’t know I needed in my life.

My thanks to @ka for sharing this and also to @amit for doing his Weekly Digest which brought me to discover it. I totally would have missed this if it wasn’t for his post.

Every once in a while I question the accuracy of sleep tracking apps. Specially since these days we are constantly waking up every three hours or so. And with two kids under the age of three it’s even more often sometimes. However, this right here seems about right for last night. And also probably the most sleep I’ve had in the last 4 nights.

It isn’t Marley’s first Christmas per se. But it is the first Christmas that she’s more aware of what’s going on, the traditions and expectations. She knows what she wants for Christmas and she knows “Santa” is coming. So it’s her first Christmas in that aspect and also our first as parents playing our role in this. I am super excited, I can not wait to leave some cookies and milk the night before. To see her face in the morning when she wakes up and finds her gifts. I am so excited!