Rendering

Our friends Lisa and Brian just moved into a new home. As a house warming gift, Jeni and I did a rendering of their new house using watercolor pencils. It was a lot of fun drawing again. I think it turned out really good and they were tickled with it.

Flowers

I really liked these flowers too. Jeni had a lot of fun doing this, and she is now looking into other quilling projects that she could do. (The cats enjoyed the quilling, too, which raises the level of difficulty slightly.)

Quilling favorite

This was one of my favorites that she made. Some other ideas...

Quilling projects

Jeni made Valentines this year using quilling. It's the art of rolling and shaping paper to make pretty things. (yes, could I simplify it more?)

Moving day?

Almost a year after we moved in, we found ourselves moving our friends Lisa and Brian. They had been living in a trailer while they saved up for a house, and built the house about two football fields from where they had been living, so the overall move wasn't so bad. But when you move into a new house, you want everything done right the first time, from day one, so we were able to help them out and make sure things were perfect. We're very excited and happy for them.

Picture of the day - Movin' in

This is what our apartment looked like a year ago. Sometimes it still feels like this...

Robots in disguise

OK... enough politics (I really don't enjoy politics, but sometimes I need to vent...) How about these great Transformer icons!

Greenhouse Effect

The Kyoto Pact was signed today by many industrialized nations, excluding the United States of course (the world's largest producer of greenhouse gases). On Marketplace, one commentator stated that Kyoto will make little difference, noting that it will take 100 years to see a one degree centigrade change. Well heck, if it doesn't help me why should I do it? Let's just pave the whole f-ing planet. Forget our grandchildren. How American of U.S.!

Preaching fear

The current administration continues to preach fear to reach their objectives, now saying that if Congress doesn't approve the "emergency" funding request, we are essentially inviting more terrorist attacks. They present statements like this one: " "It may be only a matter of time before al-Qaida or other groups attempt to use chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons," Goss said at the Senate Intelligence Committee's annual hearing on threats. " as news when it's not. It's the same speculation that Homeland Security has been spouting since it was developed. Same timeliness ... Bush needs something and suddenly there's a terror alert. Haven't they heard of the boy who cried wolf?

Ouch!

I can't even begin to describe this article, you just have to read it...

NIH: Flu shots don't save lives

The NIH reports that after three decades of study, flu shots don't save the lives of elderly. Mandatory shots and vaccinations are just our government's poorly constructed blanket approach to bad health care. Here's the other side of the story that most never hear or are even aware exists. And there's a lot more like this out there...

Shirt shrinks

Jeni bought me this great Kenneth Cole shirt and after the first washing (and following the care instructions), the shirt shrunk up a little. The sleeves were where I noticed it the most, but it wasn't unwearable. It just wasn't "just right" like it had been. No big deal. The next few times I washed it, I made sure to hang it up. Well, tonight, it made it back into the dryer and lets just say I don't think I'll be wearing it anymore. Sure, I could lose about 10 or 15 pounds, but I don't think my arms will shrink two inches, or my neck one inch. I'm so disappointed. I'll contact them and express my disappointment with their poor garment care instructions, but I doubt it will get me anywhere. It's just a shame. I got to wear it maybe six or seven times ($5/wearing?) and that's just not right. I'd rather buy an Eddie Bauer wrinkle resistant shirt that'll last me two years and I don't have to iron! Now that's quality.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! This is a picture of Jeni and I in Fiji (look, I have some sun on my face!) from 2003. As I tried to find a picture with us together, I realize it's usually one of us taking the picture and we really don't have many pictures of just us two. But we know we love each other, pictures together are just a bonus.

Dog Eat Doug

All pet owners should read Dog Eat Doug from February 12 ... (just click the "previous comic" link)

New CD

Jack Johnson has a new cd coming out. The video for the first release from the cd is on his website.

Speaking of music, I'm a big sucker, because I find myself drawn to those yellow Pepsi lids for the Pepsi and iTunes music giveaway. I have "won" two free congs out of three drinks so far, and I usually don't even drink soft drinks, and almost never Pepsi. So I guess their ad campaign worked.

Icon Factory

I really enjoy the icons at Icon Factory. These are free, and while they are primarily designed for the Apple (boy, I want an Apple), they are also formatted for Windows. I don't use many of them, although I download most of them at work, but sometimes it's nice to have a unique icon for a particular folder.

Kid day at the clinic

It seemed like kid day at the clinic, as a bunch of parents brought their children with them for their adjustments. (Now we just have to convince the parents that adjustments help their kids, too.) Two funny stories, both from the same four-year-old boy. While the mother was getting adjusted by the other doctor, I was talking to her kids. Her son said they came up "in the alligator" (elevator). Later, he decided he was going to "catch" the other doctor and took a theraband (looks like a thick jump rope) and looped it around my boss's leg. It was quite entertaining to see this little boy proudly capturing a 6'2", 225 pound man. I imagine him thinking, "Well, huh... no what do I do?"

Jeni fighting pneumonia

Jeni has been fighting a chest cold that has developed into pneumonia. She has this wonderful barking cough that scared a little seven-year-old boy at the grocery store the other night (quite a funny moment to watch him jump). I hope Jeni gets better soon. She has moments where she is making great progress, but night, as usual, is tough. On the bright side, she is sleeping better.

She has also been playing with a quilling project, making Valentine cards. They are turning out really neat. Thanks Martha Stewart! Always enjoy the challenging projects that Martha comes up with...

Picture of the Day -- By Gameboy Light

Last Morgan picture here, but this is another of my favorites. She was playing her Gameboy with the light. Intense little girl.

Picture of the Day -- Morgan's reflection

I have had the fortune of catching Morgan in some different expressions. She is our friend's daughter and even though we are not around her that often, it seems that the moments we are are choice ones. This is from Lisa and Brian's rehearsal dinner.

Picture of the Day -- Nepali Scouts

Since I wrote of Nepal yesterday, I thought I should post another picture from my trip. The Scouts were a vital part of our mission because they helped organize the sites, acted as translators, and basically helped us do anything we needed. These two tagged along with us for a few days at different sites. This photo is from Thimi, a smaller farming community outside of Kathmandu. On my scrubs, my name is written in Nepalese. These boys were very funny because they tried to teach me to speak Nepalese, which is a gutteral language. And if you have never in you life made these noises with any intention, let me tell you, they just don't come out right at all, no matter how hard you try. But they got a good laugh out of my efforts!

Nepal shut down

When I read the news this morning of Nepal's King Gyanendra shutting down the government and declaring an infinite state of emergency, I was very saddened. I was very fortunate to have traveled to Nepal in the summer of 2001 as one of 33 chiropractors on a mission trip. We set up free clinics and provided chiropractic care to thousands of patients during the brief three weeks we were there. But more important than the experience of caring for these patience was the impact these kind-hearted people had on our lives. They touched us each as individuals. After each adjusting day, we would gather as a group and discuss our experiences in a very open and emotional session. Each and every one of us was touched in some deeply personal way by these people. The people of Nepal are very kind, very open, and incredibly spiritual. Generally speaking, this is a loving, peaceful country that has been the object of much strife and anger. I can only hope that peace returns soon.

An apology

An open letter to the internet community:

I must apologize to the internet community. I really didn't want to do what I did, but I had to. I really had no choice. My boss made me. Sure, I guess I could have made some technical-sounding excuse that he would have bought, but that would have meant that we would continue to share a computer, and I couldn't do that. So, against my better judgement, I unleashed my boss upon the internet, on some antique Win98 machine with 64 mb of RAM and 1.3 Gig available hard drive space, of a total 2.2. This is the guy who yesterday, I had to show how to put files from my computer onto a floppy, and then how to take them off the floppy and drag them into his My Documents folder (no, don't double click...that'll open it again...ok, just close that window and click and hold...no, it opened again...ok, carefully, now...) So if you come across him as you speed around the internet, be kind, speak slowly and in gentle tones because he means well, hold his hand, and say a little prayer as you leave him in the internet dust.

Picture of the Day -- Josie sleeping

I promise not a lot of cat pictures, but this is Josie. She was curled up with Jeni while Jeni was trying to sleep off some sinus junk she's been fighting. The cats seem to know when you're not feeling well and curl up with you to make you feel better. Both Josie and Huggy Bear slept with Jeni for hours that day.