Cowboys Remain Alive!

The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Saints tonight to remain in play for the division win and the playoffs!

CONGRATS! :)

OK. You can go back to your lives now. :)

Again, 'grats to the Dallas Cowboys!

This post was brought to you by the letters W, I, N, and the number 11.

Strange Glowing Critters...

We have suddenly acquired a family of 4 strangely glowing critters on our lawn. They appear to resemble reindeer and they each have a strange umbilical cord that attaches them to our electrical outlet. Oddly enough, they glow once attached to the above electrical outlet!

I suppose I'll claim they're aliens and that we've been invaded. Head for the hills folks, the aliens have arrived!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

This post was brought to you by the letters L, I, G, H, T, S, and the number 4.

Lights!

I put up Christmas lights today. Those of you who live here in Salt Lake city know that it was an unpleasant day to hang Christmas lights, but I'm pretty much done with the outside lights. In fact I can't do any more until I either borrow or buy an extension ladder.

Hopefully I can finish it off this week without too much trouble.

This post was brought to you by the letters S, N, O, W, and the number 3.

Ooops! I Broke It!

I killed the hand mixer Monday night. The Pink Princess and I were making Zucchini Bread and after adding the dry to the wet, (the batter gets really thick at this point) the mixer slowed to a near stop and then there was a ZZZZZZ-POP and a puff of smoke. The mixer had expired after 11.5 years with our family. It had finally given up its electric ghost in an acrid cloud of smoke.

LOVELY!!!

At this point I was forced to complete the mixing by hand on batter that was the approximate consistency of concrete. After a few moments, it was time to add the shredded zucchini and that addition of liquid was enough to loosen up the batter a bit so that it could be poured into the bread pans.

The bread turned out nicely! :) I'm sure we'll kill another loaf tonight. :) I was told by the recipients of the mini loaves at work that it was excellent, but I think I could have done better.

In the aftermath of this, we've finally purchased the KitchenAid stand mixer we were instructed to purchase with some money from our wedding 11.5 years ago. Yeah, it's a little late, but we got around to it. The new mixer is scheduled for delivery on 12.9.2009.

I think I'll be making another double batch of Zucchini Bread that night to break it in... We'll see if the KitchenAid can handle the concrete. :)

This post was brought to you by the letters Y, U, M, and the number 5.

Exhaustion

I am really dragging these days. The carpet was installed yesterday and we've begun bringing back furniture.

I still need to install the molding downstairs and complete the door trim (3 pieces remain). The new door hardware needs to be installed downstairs and I need to cut a half inch from the bottom of a door. I had been hoping to avoid cutting the door, but it is inevitable. I also need to paint a window sill I completely forgot about when I was painting trim in the rec room (this needs 2 coats at least).

Once all the above is complete, I can begin assembly on the new furniture. There are at least 4 pieces that need complete assembly. Then I can move some of the heavier items of the existing furniture into place.

The incidentals that remain include installing electrical plates and a bunch of touch-ups as well as temporary installation of a handrail to the basement. I have the materials to create a new one, but I'm not going to have time to build it and stain it before the party tomorrow night.

I think I'll leave the incidentals other than touch-ups to last, possibly tomorrow since it really won't take very long to perform those tasks.

This post was brought to you by the letters T, I, R, E, D, and the number 30 (hours to go).

Paint Fumes!

Last night I painted the ceilings of the Basement buildout and the rec room. This morning, the Queen claims to be a bit high on paint fumes and the Princess has claimed to HATE the smell of paint. The ladies are a little demanding! :)

How am I supposed to paint the space before the carpet is installed if I don't apply paint to the ceiling and walls of the space?! I mean SHEESH! :)

Anyway, I finished up around midnight and I'm dragging at work a bit today as a result. Tomorrow, the marathon really starts. I have to paint the walls of the new bedroom 2 colors (light over dark), the common area and stairs, and the rec room 2 colors (accent wall). All of it needs 2 coats. I also need to install the door hardware and start painting the trim and chair rail that we'll need to get. On Sunday, I get to install chair rail and start installing the trim. (I'm planning on watching my Cowboys win another game and the Nascar race as well - should be some really good crashes). Then Monday and Tuesday nights, I have to try to finish up because the carpet gets installed on Wednesday. Wednesday and Thursday, I have to assemble some furniture and put it into place. Sounds fun, eh? :)

Wish me luck at getting it all done!

This post was grought to you by the letters H, O, M, E, and the number 5.

Progress.

Hey, in case you've been wondering, I've made progress on my basement. I know, I know. You're probably thinking "Wasn't this thing supposed to be finished in the spring?" And you would be right, but things have taken longer than we expected and I've been slacking trying to work on it when the family wouldn't be disturbed by my activities. :)

At any rate, the mudding and taping has been completed, the doors have been installed, and I have a couple of areas to do a little light sanding - about 10 minutes worth. This means I'll be painting the ceilings of the basement area and the rec room tonight. We have carpet scheduled for installation on Wednesday of next week, so ALL the painting and trim work has to be completed by then. I'm not sure the trim will be completed, but I'll be doing a lot of painting over the weekend to try and meet that deadline.

I'm sure the painting will be completed Sunday some time, but the trim may take a little longer. We'll see! :)

Wish me luck!

This post was brought to you by the letters T, I, R, E, D, and the number 12.

Faith Restored... Sort of...

Yesterday, I came to the realization that HUMANS SUCK!!! Then one of those humans started restoring my faith in humans a bit.

If the frozen lunch in the freezer has a name on it and the name IS NOT YOURS, you should leave it alone. Anyway, one of my fellow humans stole my lunch yesterday and another fellow human bought me lunch after hearing of the incident. I was on my way to get lunch myself when he told me he'd drive. I just thought he wanted to go to lunch at the same time. Who knew, eh? :)

P.S. - You all have my apologies for taking so long to post since my last one. Oops!

This post was brought to you by the letters U, D, W, N, C, and the number 6.

Really? You make the call.

I've been told recently that I look like a cross between the rappers Common and Ice Cube. I was informed that I should take it as a compliment because "Common is FINE!"

(yes, you could hear the capitals and the exclamation point when she said it)




Why don't you make the call. I'll upload a pic I just took of myself (from a 1.3 megapixel webcam that apparently has trouble focusing on me), then one I found on the Internet of Common, and finally one of Ice Cube I found on the Internet.

So... What do you think? I just thought it was amusing that the young ladies in the concession stand at the corn maze we visited felt the need to inform me of this and I think it's a bit flattering to get the attention. :)

Anyway. This post was brought to you by the letters F, I, N, E, and the number 3.

How About Some Consistency? PLEASE!!!

So, the Cowboys blow the game again, because our quarterback, Tony Romo, can't play consistently. Today, he had trouble hitting the broad side of a barn. He had an awesome chance to tie the game up, after blowing a 10-0 lead I might add, with a 1st and goal from the 8 yard line.

HE BLEW IT!

Time to find a quarterback who is more consistent.

That's all I have to say about that.

This post was brought to you by the letters R, O, M, O, and the number 9.

The House of Sick

Our home has been ill all month. The latest is that the Prince has an ear infection (go figure) and I have some sort of sinus thing. The Queen is fighting off the effects of possibly a sinus thing and now a bug bite. It has her face all swollen such that it looks like I've abused her.

I swear I haven't laid a hand on her, but it's somewhat odd to see! It's getting better. So far, the Princesses haven't gotten anything (knocks on some handy fake wood) and we hope it stays that way.

In my case, a lot of my distress is because of the changing weather out here in the Salt Lake Valley. Things change in a hurry out here and it feels like my head is inflated to 100psi. Aside from the headaches and sinus pain, I'm doing fine, though.

Anyway, I thought you would like to know what's going on with us since I haven't posted in some time.

P. S. - I'm done with the sheet rock in the basement and will now move on to correct a seeping leak in the foundation near the window (lot's of digging in my future) and then on to mudding and taping. :) Please tell me you can feel the sarcasm dripping off that sentence.

This post was brought to you by the letters I, L, L, and the number 3.

Matthew is 5 months old!

My son is 5 months old today! Go check out his blog to see what "he" had to say about it. :)

Anyway, today we observe Labor Day and we're planning to go on a hike and then spend the day in Millcreek Canyon having hot dogs cooked over a fire with family.

I can't say much bad about food that's been cooked over fire especially since I like fire quite a bit. :)

Anyway, I'll do my best to enjoy myself.

Perhaps I'll even post pictures or something. (yeah right!)

Anyway, this post was brought to you by the letters H, I, K, E, and the number 78.

Back to Work...

I got back to work on the basement over the weekend. I installed the bathroom vent and flex ducting to the outside and reinstalled the fiberglass insulation. I then installed the green board on the ceiling and tray of the bathroom space. I also installed the dry fixtures so there is some light.

Let me tell you, if you install drywall on a ceiling by yourself, be ready to experience a backache. The pain has since faded a bit, but I'm expecting it to revisit me tomorrow morning. I'm NOT looking forward to that.

Tomorrow, I'll work on the walls. Once that is done, I'll move on to the cement board in the shower area. I plan to be done with the green board this week so I can mud and tape everything I've done so far.

This post was brought to you by the letters A, C, H, E, and the number 9.

Ear Infection... Really?

I have an ear infection. As a result of this, my hearing is all jacked up. I'm not having any trouble with equilibrium, but I can't hear worth a 'hill of beans' (using a phrase my great grandmother used to use).

So, I have to use ear drops 4 times daily and it's no fun for my hearing to be so jacked up and constantly changing. It's supposed to be pretty much back to normal by around Friday, so I'm looking forward to it. :)

In the meantime, I'll continue to use the drops and take pain meds. This is the first time I remember ever having an ear infection, so it's a new experience for me.

This post was brought to you by the letters O, U, C, H, and the number 2.

Update, and Getting Back Into the Groove.

WARNING - Long Post follows!!! :)

OK. So I haven't been the best at updating this thing, but I'm working on it again.

So last week, we went camping. Thursday, after work, we drove up to the camp site for my wife's church camping trip. We took 2 cars since I needed to leave and could not stay the night. Just after arriving, it started raining, so I quickly set up the tents in the rain, pretty much alone. It wasn't the most fun I've ever had, but I did it and then dried up the water from the interior of the tent.

I left that night after dinner since I had to work on Friday. The Queen, the 2 princesses, and our new little prince all stayed at the campgrounds.

The next day, they had a pretty good time by all accounts of things until rather late in the day when the rain showers came through. After the second of these showers, the oldest princess reported to the Queen that the interior of the tens and all sleeping bags were soaking wet which prompted a call to me. By this time, I had finished work and was trying to enjoy a little friendly geeking time with a few friends before heading up to the camp grounds. Anyway, The call informed me that the interior of the tent was flooded and the sleeping bags were wet, etc. I wasn't sure if there was anything I could do at that point, but attempt to be a good hubby. (I'm not so sure how well I did on that little quiz, by the way.) The Queen tried to dry out a camp chair for inside the tent and then the 3rd rain shower came and it was all over. I got a call indicating the Queen and the royal offspring were leaving and that I could go get the tent and the rest of our stuff whenever I wanted. Needless to say, I didn't go to the campground when I was done geeking - I went home instead where I found an annoyed royal spouse. (It would seem, I have a superpower. I can make it rain on my family and make them miserable. I have no control over this power, though.)

The following morning, I woke the princesses and we went to retrieve our belongings from the campground. It began to hail and rain while we were packing up and we all got thoroughly soaked. The temps were in the lower 40s, by the way. Eventually we got everything back home where things were pretty dry and warm and after hot showers, we felt human again.

We then proceeded to go to 2 other activities that took up the remainder of our Saturday. Unfortunately, the Queen became very ill with a stomach bug shortly after we began the second activity and we returned home where she retreated to the bedroom with connected bathroom for the remainder of the evening/night. Apparently, one of the other families brought the bug to the campground and the Queen caught it. Luckily, it was a rather short-lived bug and she was well on the mend by around midnight. The next morning, she indicated she felt fine if a little tired from her ordeal. I have set up the tents in the back yard, hosed the muck off them, and opened the screens so the hot sun and breeze would dry them out. I'll take them down once I get home today.

I suggest you all poke at the Queen to get her to post pics of the vacation and tell her side of our camping adventure. :)

This post was brought to you by the letters R, A, I, N, and the number 3.

1st Day Back

Today was the 1st day back from vacation and I have to say, it was the most relaxing day in the last week. :)

There was less than 30 minutes of driving total, and there weren't any hills to traverse. I'd say that was a pretty relaxing day, how about you? :)

I'm sure the Queen will have a boatload of pictures to post at some point, but for now just know that I missed each and every 3 of you who read this on a regular basis. :)

Thank you for your patronage. :)

This post was brought to you by the letters D, O, N, E, and the number 11.

Pioneer Day

Yesterday was Pioneer Day here in Utah. The state is celebrating the anniversary of the pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake valley. As a result, all state offices were closed, and there was a big parade. I took the day off and spent it with my family and in the process, helped a good friend who had some trouble with missed flights and needing a helping hand in a time of trouble.

It was all together an enjoyable day. :)

This post was brought to you by the letters B, O, O, M, and the number 45.

How Much More Can I Slack!

Boy! I've really slacked on my postings. There is no excuse for it, so I will offer up none.

My son is more that 3 months old and gaining weight. he regularly smiles and Mommy and me and occasionally adds in a coo. :)

I've actually started working again in the basement of the house. As you'll recall, I basically took 3 months off, but I've gotten back into it. If I do something on it each day, I feel like I'm making progress and I'm a lot more motivated to do more. Perhaps, I'll post some pictures or something - yeah right, re-read the title, please.

I'm trying not to be so grouchy in my posts, as you'll see by the fact that it's been so long since I posted ANYTHING on my flame blog.

I'm also attempting to reduce the size of the bellybag (pronounced FAT) attached to the front of my frame.

We're going on vacation soon and I'm getting pumped up to see some old friends and have a chance to rest and relax a bit.

That's what's going on. I'll try to be better in the future.

This post has been brought to you by the letters R, S, T, L, N, E, and the number 26.

Smile!!!

I think I got my first smile from my son yesterday. I'm happy now. :)

This post was brought to you by the letters S, M, I, L, E, and the number 119.

My son and Religion...

My son is 2 months old today and is being blessed in the LDS religion in about 1.5 hours. I'm still not sure how I feel about that particular religion since I'm not a member of it. (FYI: I have absolutely NO plans to join it as there are some aspects of it that I cannot get behind or agree with. As a result of my feelings, I will not join so don't ask me to do so.) The ceremony itself seems innocuous since the participants are simply asking a greater power to bless him.

At any rate, my son is healthy and is two months old today. I'm happy about that. :)

I need to go shower and the like so I can go hold my son during the ceremony not that I really want to go to that church, or any church for that matter (I have an issue with organized religion if you haven't heard), but I want to be there for my son though he won't really know about it unless he sees pictures later.

Anyway, the shower calls.

This post was brought to you by the letters M, J, H, and the number 112.