almost traumatic

most already know that we survived hurricane ike this month. the hurricane itself was not bad. since this was the first of this kind of experience for either becky or myself, we really didn't know what to do. so, as most inexperienced people, we took the sum of our knowledge, and added it to the worst-case scenarios given by the liberal media, who strike fear into the hearts of all those who will listen, with every given chance. the night of ike, we camped out in the living room, an our couches. it wasn't bad, until the power went out about 1am. then it started to get stuffy. i went out to talk to one of our neighbors. as we were standing by our gates talking, we had a nice wind gust that blew open our 6'x6' solid wood gates, with ease. as they blew open, i had to hold on to the gate post for dear life, hoping i didn't get blown away; just knowing that the huge oak i was standing under was sure to come down on us.

when the winds got too scary, becky and i decided to move the family into a 'safe room'. this just happened to be the 4'x5' half bath in the laundry room. keep in mind, we already had no electricity....no a/c, no lights, no nothing. we shoved cameron inside the cabinets under the sink and counter, with his pillow, and a blanket for cushion. then we brought in the two dog beds, and put them on the floor. taylor, colton, and brianna got to share those. becky sat on the toilet, and i got the wonderfully too hard counter top, trying not to kick taylor in the head when my feet would slip off. we filled the sink with ice, so we could fan it, and try to cool the room. that was, until the condensation started soaking cameron. then he found a spot on the floor too.

we stayed that way for 4 hours, with the kids coloring and playing cards by flashlight, and becky and i listening to the news on a walkman i rigged up to an old car speaker. after that, becky and i switched places, and there we were for another 3 or 4 hours. that was traumatic. i am still surprised that the bathroom has managed to dry out from all the bear cave mouths of the kids, and the gallons that we sweat all over. i never imagined that leaving that room, to walk around an un-air-conditioned house would be so releiving. the rest of the house felt really cool....evn though it was 80+ degrees.

we decded that next time, we'll camp out in our bedroom, and have a window a/c unit. forget spending the night in a bathroom, especially with the kids getting bigger.

i must admit tht the 15 days post-huricane w/o power was not half as bad as that one night in the restroom. i spent a lot of time sleeping on the couches at night, because i could open all the donstairs windows, and prop open the living room door, and get a good breeze coming through. it almost felt normal.

but now we have power back, and life is slowly returning to normal. the county has yet to make any progress in picking up branches, tree trunks, and other debris in our neighborhood, so we have many piles on our block. 3 of which belong to us. i guess thats what we get for having one of the larger yards in the neighborhood. after we had cleaned the yard, and gott the piles together, and scooped everything possible into 50 gallon yard bags, we found out that the county won't take the bagged stuff, bcause they can't mulch the bags. thanks for letting us know before hand!

since i know the shopping centers around here have once- or semi-weekly dumpster service (and they can't fill their dumpsters when clsed for lack of power), i felt no guilt in making sure their expenses were not wasted. i took out all the back seats in the van and loaded it up 3 times with the bagged debris, and filled 2 dumpsters, and then some. westill have the piles, but at least all the black bags have disappeared!

all in all, no harm to the house, and except for some blisters on taylor's part (from raking the yard), no harm to the family.

see ya next time.

Newest updates

so, we've had lots of fun lately. in july, i took a weekend off of my new work, and we went and had some fun. our adventure took us up to lewisville for john's surprise 40th birthday party. i didn't know half the people there, but almost our entire family was there. it was good to see them all again. here are some of the pictures from it. unfortunately, we just aren't as japanese touristy as we could be....sometimes we're a little slow with the camera, or altogether forget we have it.

one of my many home improvement projects is finally making some progress. one of our dogs got very sick, one night, and when we woke up that morning, the entire downstairs was covered in who knows how many different kinds of bodily fluids, etc. there was just no way we were going to try and clean the carpet and live with it, so we tore it all out. now, we have a wood floor going in. i was able to get a portion of the wall replaced, after dad helped me repair some roof problems, and the floor was moving along nicely. here's some before & after pics.

this morning, taylor had a youth triathalon. she had to swim 50m, then bike 1mi, then run 1/4mi. she placed 7th in her age group. we'revery proud of her, and how well she did. here are some pics and video that we got of it.

...here's a video montage i made from it...

recent happenings

so, i found out recently that our ward's primary assigns primary kids to bring the sacrament bread, instead of the ym group doing it. they have certain rules that you have to go by: ie. no milk, eggs rye, etc. for allergen reasons. the cool thing is it gives the primary kids the chance to feel involved in a part of something special. especially when you have a ward full of martha stewart-ish people.

a couple weeks ago, we were all excited about the sacrament bread because it was a good white homemade bread. so we thought. until it hit our tongues. it might have been sourdough, but it certainly was more dough than bread. it was almost hilarious to see the facial reactions of everyone around us as they tried to swallow it down. it would have made a good mastercard commercial...1 loaf of undercooked sourdough: $2.00, the look on a 5 year-old's face: priceless.

anyway, we got the notice not too long after that day that it was taylor's turn. she was excited, and determined to not make such a faux pas. we decided to use the opportunity to teach her some baking skills. so last saturday, becky walked her through making a batch of bread. then sunday morning, taylor got a spiral notebook, an the cookbook. in the notebook she wrote: taylor's bread recipe; then copied mom's recipe out of the book. she made a loaf of bread completely on her own, except she asked for some help in forming the loaf. i didn't even know she was doing it, until it was time to stick it in the oven.

the loaf was still steaming when we got to church, and taylor handed it to the teachers. since we were sitting right behind the deacons, we were some of the first to get some bread. taylor's face beamed when she tasted it, and then she spent the next few minutes looking around the chapel at all the other people as they ate her bread. i could tell she was very proud of herself. i'm sure she told her primary teacher that she had done it, but i don't know how many others knew.

the cool part is that since she felt such an integral part of the meeting, almost the center of it (i would bet) in her eyes; she paid attention to the whole meeting.

so for you're viewing pleasure, here is taylor with her bread. oh yeah, this is not the loaf from church. she decided to wake up this morning and make another loaf on her own.

while i was taking this picture, our own local spiderman had to be part of the crowd, so here's one or two of him as well.

cameron had his 7th birthday a couple of weeks ago. while becky and i were at the store, discussing what we could possible do for him that would just make his day, i had a stroke of genius inspiration. those only come every once in a blue moon, and you gotta be careful 'cause the stroke part may be the only part that stays around when its done with you. anyway, i was thinking that cam is such the entrepreneur. nothing makes him smile quite like the sight of money. so, i scanned a dollar bill into the computer, took out george's doppelganger, and put in cameron's noggin. then i changed all the ones to sevens, the best MS Paint would let me. we took the graphic into walmart on an sd card, and had it printed on a sheet of sugar paper. when becky made the cake, she stuck cam's 7-dollar bill on it. he was thrilled! here's how it turned out.

not to bore you much longer, but you should know that i just started a new job, and lucky me, i get to work from home! the only time i've really even left is to go to office depot to get large format prints of floorplans. i just don't think the company would spring for buying me a plotter for my home office. since most of my time is spent pouring (or is it pooring?) over floorplans, i had to get some sort of drafing desk. i could not find a single one anywhere tha would fit a full-size set of prints, with the exception of one that was in the $300 range. so, i went to lowes and got me some materials, and made myself one. its kind of a permanent fixture in my office, but it works for me, and should i ever decide to get rid of it, i only left 6 or so screw holes in the wall. here is my most recent pride and joy. behold: the drafting table!

WEEEeeeeeeeee

finally, i got something. not much, but at least it helps to pay the bills while i look for something permanent.

i get to deliver for pizza hut.

i know. real fun huh? real professional, but hey...it keeps my days open for searching, and still i can get almost 40 hrs in each week.

i think i finally got the roof leak fixed. i thought that i had cleared out all the leaves and pine needles from behind the chimney, but when the roof was still leaking gallons a minute, i had to climb all the way on. i'm still not thrilled....a 32 year old wood shingle roof? 220lbs on top of it? and then there's the nice 30-35 deg. slope of the roof. whew....glad i'm still around to tell the tale.

anyway, when i got up there, i saw a mess of junk the there was no way of getting from the ladder. I cleared all that off to find 6-8 inches of fine dark soil. really, it was decomposed pine needles, oak leaves, bugs, pollen, an who knows what else. I got a shovel and broom and cleared that all away, only to find th acid from the pine had completely eaten away the (original) lead flashing. yes, lead. so there was no patch to be done. i had to completely replace all the flashing, with newer stainless stuff. as if that wasn't bad enough, trying to wedge myself between the roof and chimney, and get down below my feet to install new flashing; i broke some of the old shingles in the process. do i need to tell you that my back and hips are very sore now? a grown man was not meant to be put in those types of positions. glad i've been losing weight, or else i might not have been able to fold up like that.

so now that i've put 2 tubes of roofing tar to seal the seams, and another 1 1/2 tubes of caulk to act as glue, and hold the flashing to the shingles, and the chimney, i think it is water proof. i'll do the water hose test this evening, and see if i can't prove myself wrong. if i'm right, then i can finally hang the sheetrock tonight. by saturday night, i may finally have the living room floor finished.

i hope.

'ssup...

here i am...still no job, and a three day weekend to boot. of course no one's going to be working tomorrow. kinda frustrating. everyone i talk to says, i'll get back to you next monday. too bad i know that they won't be there tomorrow, and when tuesday rolls around...guess what? its not monday...i must have already done that.

so, anyway. we've been trying to make some repairs to the house. i got about 2 boxes of pergo down in the living room, when i put my hand on the wall to support myself, it went through. thats how i foundout we had a leak in the roof, next to the chimney. not even a week later, we noticed the a/c overflow pipe from the soffit constantly draining i figured it was just because of the extra humidity. nope. next day, the paint on the stairwell had bubbles in it, and when i popped one, out gushed the water. i found out the fun way that the a/c drain was clogged with junk. there was a service pipe (to pour in bleach to clean the drain. of course it was uncapped, so all the dust and bugs, etc. from the attic filled the whole thing. now, i'm missing a section of the l/r wall, and another section of the stairwell wall, and i still haven't finished the floor!

it just never ends. i've got a part of the roof fixed, but surveyed the rest of the roof. i found about 5 other sections of facia that are rotting because of pine needles overhanging, and not enough shingle overhang. but i can't clean the roof....more like it i won't. i mean hey, i'm 220lbs. its a 32 year old wood shingle roof, with a single layer of composite shingles on top. i'm not about to climb up there. i'm half-way hoping that the hail storm we had a while back did some damage, and insurance will pay for a new roof. but now isn't the best time to try and pay a deductible.

so in the mean time, i hope i can just keep the place patched up. oh yeah, speaking of patches, did i mention that the stucco on the front of the house has cracked, and now its getting the plywood back board waterlogged? have you seen the movie Moneypit? well i own that house i think.

good luck to you...hope your week goes better!

So this is the thing we call life

i've been working my tail off for who knows how long now. i was going to go ask my boss today when the soonest is i could take some vacation time. i wanted to tell the wife she could take that trip with her mom that she's wanted, w/o having to find a sitter. then around comes 11:00. here comes a coworker and says that the boss wants to take our whole dept to lunch @ noon. at 11:30, i find out that there has been a corporate restructure, at the request of the board, and most of our dept, along with who knows how many others got laid off. no vacation for me.

so, i'm back on the unemployed-hoping-to-be-employed market.

good luck to me.

another week

now i'm not so old-fashioned as to think that a woman's place is pregnant and barefoot, in the kitchen; however, neither am i a women's rights activist. if a woman wants to work...great! BUT, if she has a family, i do feel that rearing her children should be her #1 priority. if my wife wants to work, go ahead, but please be home when the kids get home from school. that's all i ask.. no day care.

so, on that note, here's something fun to look at....maybe only because its interesting to see how our minds change, society-wide, in such a short period of time. or maybe societal pressures change our mind sets for us.

on with the.......

The following is from a 1950's Home Economics textbook intended for high school girls, teaching how to prepare for married life.
1. Have dinner ready -- Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal - on time. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him, and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospects of a good meal are part of the warm welcome needed.

2. Prepare yourself -- Take 15 minutes to rest so you will be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your makeup, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh looking. He has just been with alot of work-weary people. Be a little gay and a little more interesting. His boring day may need a lift.
Clear away the clutter -- Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives, gathering up school books, toys, paper, etc. Then run a dust cloth over the tables. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift, too.

3. Prepare the children -- Take a few minutes to wash the children's hands and faces if they are small, comb their hair, and if necessary, change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part.

4. Minimize the noise -- At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of washer, dryer, dishwasher or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet. Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile and be glad to see him.

5. Some Don'ts -- Don't greet him with problems or complaints. Don't complain if he's late for dinner. Count this as minor compared with what he might have gone through that day.
Make him comfortable -- Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or suggest he lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soft, soothing and pleasant voice. Allow him to relax and unwind.
Listen to him -- You may have a dozen things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first.

6.Make the evening his -- Never complain if he does not take you out to dinner or to other places of entertainment; instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure, his need to be home and relax.

The goal -- Try to make your home a place of peace and order where your husband can relax.

now that we see whaere we come from, or the mindset of our parents / grandparents, its interesting to look at how we compare, with our current thought patterns.

its sad that we have left some of these behind, but at the same time, the wife / mother is not the slave. lets not treat them that way.

Finally!

the weekend is here. although it might as well be over. long week behind, short end ahead.

i'm spending my saturday working on my car. it was time to change the oil, and the rear brakes were making some awesome noises, and when i slowed down, it felt like i was riding over those wake-up grooves on the side of the highway. so now that i have the oil done, i've spent the last two hours working on the brakes.

i've got 3 bolts off!

now if i could just figure out how to get the 4th off, i'd be able to get the first drum off. i just don't know that its all going to get done before it gets too dark to see. so, now i'm off to search for hints on other discussion threads.

later.

Back to school

so, i decided not to keep going to school - at least for the time being. Maybe in a few years I'll try an MBA program. Right now, I'm just interested in getting out of debt, and building up something for the ominous rainy day.

as my luck would have it, as soon as I started my new job, guess what? that's right...they want me to pull some certifications: go back to school. so the kicker is, for the first cert I get, I have to teach it all to myself....self study isn't too bad, if you want to do it, but when I have to for work, but I don't get paid for my personal time I put into it...kinda hard to keep motivated. but I'm more than 1/2 way there. I should be ready to take the exam by the end of May.

then I'll be a NICET 2 in Fire Alarms. ye-haw.

so right now I'm teaching myself trig, and algebra, along with NFPA Codes and IBC 2006 Regs for FA systems. if all this is about to put you to sleep, join the club.

on top of all that, I have to get certified by the DHS to work with the Critical Infrastructure Industry - oil / gas refineries, transportation, etc.

all I have to say is that I'm glad its not all coming out of my pocketbook.

good night to all.