serendipitous reflections

Striking against SOPA

2012-01-18T10:22:00.003-05:00

I know there's a way to black out the blog and redirect to the Anti-SOPA and Anti-PIPA sites out there, but I'm guilty of not taking the time to do it. But I am writing this in protest of SOPA and PIPA. These bills that are coming in front of the legislators in Washington are just a bad idea. The vaguely written language of these bills opens the door to a host of problems. It is an example of good intent poorly executed. And there's no room for that in legislation. There are some great resources out there that have much better insight into the potentially harmful impact that SOPA and PIPA will have on the internet and the exchange of information online, including this piece from Google, the Blackout page on Wikipedia, and this piece by Cory Doctorow on BoingBoing.

I get such a chuckle thinking about the reaction of narcissistic teens who are going to Wikipedia today and finding out that their online shortcut to research is not available today. Hopefully this will give them some insight into the bigness of the issue, and help them to understand that this affects them and that they can take action too.

In the absence of a blackout on this blog, I offer you instead a black cat...

Please keep speech on the internet free and open. Do it for the cats...

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

Links to look at later

2012-01-15T18:38:00.000-05:00

Sometimes you just find links to pages that you want to spend more time on...

http://danmeth.com/post/15296838533/xmascards
http://danmeth.com/tagged/popculturalcharts
http://www.geekosystem.com/category/theres-a-map-for-that/

Disposable Memory Project

2012-01-11T09:35:00.002-05:00

I was reading an article on NPR about the Disposable Memory Project, where someone left disposable cameras out for people to take, use, and pass along, with the intent of them being mailed back to him and to see what was captured. Out of the 400 cameras left around, 30 have returned. I'll be spending a few minutes at lunch checking out what photos were taken.

Christmas joy

2011-12-21T09:06:00.002-05:00

I know this picture is a little blurry, but aren't we all about this time of year? I still love this picture -- Gracie and Clara Ann feeding treats to Maggie and Josie after a matinee of the Nutcracker with the Columbia City Ballet. It is such a great show, and a Christmas tradition for us for the past four years or so. This was the first time for Clara Ann, but Gracie's third. Clara Ann did pretty good considering she is four and hasn't learned how to whisper real good. The show was a little more interesting for them, I think, because we know two of the dancers, and pointed them out to the girls early on. So throughout the show, it was "Where's Katie? Where's Alexis?"

We got some great pictures of the girls after the show, too, but that's kind of a secret right now...

We had such an amazing weekend last weekend too. We went to the Christmas DREAM magic show at Workshop Theatre (featuring the magic of Brandon Wagster). He is so talented, and a joy to watch perform.

Saturday we went to the lights at the zoo with a group of friends, then everyone came back to the house for dinner. It was such a great group of people to be around, and it was nice to have the house filled with laughter and joy.

Sunday was the Volunteer Holiday Party at Workshop Theatre, and as an added bonus our old friend Melanie was passing through town on her way home from Disney. She stopped and we got to spend about 45 minutes catching up and squeezing on her little baby and meeting her husband and other kids. There's just something about reconnecting with someone you haven't seen in eight years, and picking up like you haven't missed a beat.

All this happiness over the weekend has left me with a bit of a happiness high that has carried through for the week. Gifts are in the mail, almost everything is bought, except for a few little things for Jeni so she has surprises under the tree (which isn't an easy thing to do). Jeni's family should roll in tomorrow (just a little more cleaning to be ready). It's going to be a merry Christmas indeed.

Lost in t-shirt land

2011-11-16T09:20:00.006-05:00

Every now and then I get on a website and can't get away. This has happened with the threadless t-shirt website. I have been going through page after page of t-shirts. This isn't your typical snarky t-shirt website. These are smart, well designed shirts. And some are just so cool. I like the Middle Earth There And Back Again shirt, which shows the path of Lord of the Rings as a subway map. Very smart. The Leaping Dolphins badminton club t-shirt is wonderful, using the shuttlecock as the sunset. Then there's the Lazy Bones and Thunder Crabs (although I wish it was football and not rugby). I could link and link and link. They have some great Zombie, Muppets and Doctor Who shirts too. Just search and enjoy.

Oh, I have to add this one too. Love is Love. Wonderful...

And this one too, because Jeni likes giraffes...

Like I said, I could go on and on. Check out this Pacman shirt.

Lotion bottles project

2011-11-11T00:34:00.001-05:00

This is what happens when Jeni leaves me alone at the house for a few days.

I find her lotion bottles that are down the that final inch that the pump won't pull out, I take them together, and let gravity consolidate the lotions. Problem is, this is thick lotion, and gravity is working slowly. So I forgot about the lotion bottles taped to the shower (so they don't fall over or turn into cat toys), and Jeni came home to see my contraption. She was very entertained.

Cable and internet are back

2011-11-10T08:42:00.003-05:00

I'll give this AT&T service guy credit -- he called the right number, admitted that the other guy goofed, and fixed the problem (although he has no idea why the signal was gone). He ended up replacing the main box, the face plate in the wall, the coax to the wall, and a part outside of the house before it came back on. But it is back, and that's what matters. Now the next fun part -- calling the billing department to get credit for the lack of service for two days.

A failure in customer service

2011-11-09T09:50:00.002-05:00

Let me start by being fair, and saying that for over two years we have had AT&T U-Verse service with minimal issue. That being said, it is a shame when failure in customer service puts a negative haze over a good product.

On Saturday, the cable was being goofy. When you would change to a channel it would play for a few seconds, then the picture would freeze. I called technical support and, while on hold as he checked something, it started working right again. He noted that we had a weak signal and would send someone over to check it out. Also, for our trouble, they sped up our internet access for a year, free.

The tech guy is there Sunday morning before 9:30 am to check things out. Turns out that the hardware outside was three upgrades old and was stealing some signal strength. He upgraded everything, had me check our cable and it was working fine. He said bye, I went to the gym, met a friend for lunch, did some other things during the afternoon.

When I returned Sunday night the cable was out. Angry red light flashing on the main box. I called tech support and they had me try to reset the box (I'd already tried unplugging it). That didn't work. They set up another service call, which aggravated me because the guy was just here, and now one of us will have to miss work for this. After she got off the phone with me, I unplugged the box and plugged it in again -- why not? And sure enough, it came back on -- no red light. But I decided to leave the service call on the books, just in case. Good thing, too, because Monday after I got home from work the cable was out and no unplugging was going to fix it.

Now Jeni had been out of town through all this, and she had work to catch up on. So we called AT&T and let them know that when the guy is on his way, for him to call her cell phone. They always call about 20 minutes before they get there anyway. This would give her plenty of time to meet the guy at home so she doesn't miss more work than necessary. Well, surprise surprise, the doofus calls our home number and leaves a mumbled "AT&T U-Verse" message. Not "Hi, this is Joe from AT&T -- I'm on my way. Be there in 15." What if she was out getting the mail, or away from the phone. Plus, he called at 3:27 for a 4:00 at the earliest appointment. So she had no expectation of being home at 3:27 anyway.

Well, Jeni gets home a little after 6:00 pm thinking he's still going to come only to get the message on the phone. She calls tech support and says that they called the wrong number, and his failure is why this appointment was missed. If he had called the right number, she would have been there. The guy even confirmed that the cell number was the primary number. But he called around and all the service techs were already in for the night. Now if the block of time is from 4-9 pm, then someone should be available to come out from 4-9 pm. They ask us to give them a five hour window, so I think it is reasonable to get the same.

Jeni spoke to several people at AT&T that night trying to get someone out so she wouldn't have to miss work. Of course that didn't happen. "That's impossible" was their response. Not "I'm sorry. Our guy goofed. Unfortunately, they're on the other side of town now." What further ticked Jeni off was the manager said there were too many other service tickets out for them to add us back on, after the other guy said everyone was done for the night. Someone had their story wrong, and I'm thinking it was the manager, and not the guy who actually tried to call to get someone out for us.

In the end, we're hoping they call the right phone today so we can get our internet and phone back. If they had said "I'm sorry" it would have made things a little better. If they had tried to make it work in any way, it would have softened the frustration. But instead they dug their heels in, said it's this way or no way, and never tried to make the customer feel right at all.

Let's hope they show up tonight, and for his sake, let's hope it's not the same guy from yesterday, because Jeni will give him an earful if it is.

October recap so far

2011-10-12T09:36:00.005-04:00

We've had some amazing weather lately -- harsh storms followed by dramatic sunsets and double rainbows, pleasant nights with the windows open (much to both our delight and the cats), and then surprisingly warm days. In the blink of an eye it's almost the middle of October. Fall is my favorite time of the year, but it always seems to go too quickly.

This weekend we are going to a corn maze for a belated birthday party for me. I'm very excited. Despite the rainy week we've had, Saturday is supposed to be a perfect day for wandering around a corn field. Then Sunday we get to go to the roller derby! We missed the last one because we were at Jeni's high school reunion, so I am ready for this.

I keep watching out for a good movie pairing at the drive-in as well. We discovered our "local" drive-in this summer, and have had such a good time going out to the double-features. I'd like to make it once more before the end of their season, but we'll see. Movie selection gets a little thin this time of year, too.

Making progress

2011-09-13T12:29:00.003-04:00

Jeni and I have found some motivation somewhere and have been going to the gym consistently, eating at home more, and overall being more conscious of what we take in. It is amazing when you start looking at the nutritional guides for restaurants. It's no wonder we're overweight as a society. I'm very proud of both of us. Jeni and I each have lost some weigh. Jeni's going to have to buy some new clothes soon if this keeps up. And I am nearing a goal I set for myself a while back, but wasn't really getting close to until recently. We'll be back at the gym tonight. Anything Goes is getting ready to open at Workshop and although Jeni isn't producing this one, it is still taking some of her time and will probably serve as a bit of a distraction from the gym for a few days. But we're doing better than we were a month ago, and that's all you can ask for. So ::pat pat:: on our backs.

My web snapshot

2011-08-31T10:40:00.002-04:00

Here is my web snapshot from webifyme. Sort of like a horoscope ... surprisingly accurate.

I found the gym!

2011-08-10T09:28:00.004-04:00

It had been almost a month since I had gone to the gym -- with Cinderella happening and keeping us busy, there just weren't enough hours. This was always my fear when I initially joined the gym. I figured I'd have the best intentions, then end up flushing away a monthly membership. But until last month I'd done OK. So hopefully I'm back on schedule. Two miles on the elliptical is a good start (especially with a bruised foot from stubbing my little toe really badly).

Jeni and I have started on a new multi-vitamin that a friend of ours formulated. I'm onto my third day and I have to say I am amazed at good how I am feeling. I don't know if it is coincidence (I doubt it), but I just feel more focused and mentally clearer, and I seem to have more energy. That's all very good. I hope this continues.

Random thoughts

2011-08-04T10:07:00.003-04:00

Just some random thoughts, because I felt like pounding something out here instead of on Facebook. Facebook is fun, but anything you put there is lost in a day, so tedious to recall.

We have wrapped up Cinderella at Workshop Theatre. It ran for about 16 shows starting in mid-July. It was a lot of fun. I was working the mics for the actors, which was a fun and stressful endeavor. Two mics died on me during the run. Thankfully the actors could project and be heard. I don't think Jeni will be producing another show until maybe the spring, so it will be nice to have than break. Maybe we'll get a chance to do the other things on our to do list, like tend to the yard or read a book. (Although it has been so unbearably hot that the yard hasn't been an issue lately.) I need to post some Cinderella pictures, because we have some really good ones and I should show off the set and the costumes because they were amazing.

I'm eager for fall to get here, although I hate to say that because I don't want to wish time away. It goes fast enough already. I just love that time of year. Things seem calmer for some reason -- the season just doesn't seem to last long enough.

We went to see Cowboys & Aliens the other day, which could have been Cowboys & You-Name-It because the aliens were almost too matter-of-fact in the way they were addressed. But before the show we saw the trailer for Battleship. I'm going to say it now, this will be the Snakes on a Plane of this year. It looks so pointless and ridiculous. I'm amazed that they have based a movie on the board game. We truly have run out of ideas.

Earlier this month we went to Fripp Island with some friends. It is an amazing place, and officially one of my favorite beaches.

We saw a baby sea turtle make its last 20 feet of its journey to the sea. I know I shouldn't have taken a picture, but I couldn't help myself. I stunned her briefly with the flash, but she did OK.

They also had deer all over the place. The deer were so tame and accustomed to people. Just amazing.

Could you imagine having this in your front yard every evening?

OK, I was too positive about Maytag too quickly

2011-07-12T11:17:00.005-04:00

We are on our third Maytag dryer. The first one, the selector dial didn't turn right, so they sent out a new dryer. The second dryer the delivery guys scratched the door, which we didn't notice until we did the first load of laundry and the interior light refracted off of the scratches. So I called, they were very quick to respond, but with the wrong response. They sent over a repairman who was going to have to half-dismantle the dryer to fix it. Unacceptable. So Jeni spent six hours on the phone to get them to send us a new dryer. Apparently Maytag allows you 48 hours to discover any problem with the appliance. Well, we got the third dryer delivered on Saturday. We've been busy with the theatre and Cinderella getting ready to open so I didn't get to do any laundry until last night (60 hours post delivery) only to find out that the dryer runs for two minutes, then trips our breaker. So the runaround begins again. Jeni has already given me a head's up that "Sears Dean" might have to come out because I don't want to have a repair on a brand new dryer that has yet to even run its first cycle. They can bring us a properly functioning, non-battered dryer, or they can take this one back and I'll drive across their parking lot to the appliance store and buy it from them. This is just getting ridiculous. And the sad thing is if I had bought some piece of junk, no frills dryer it would probably be working fine. Frustrating.

---
(I thought I could link to Sears Dean, but basically when we moved into our house in 2006 we ended up with three refrigerators on our Sears card because they wouldn't credit the card back until the refused fridge made it back to their warehouse (first one was too big, they dented the second fridge bringing it into the house). I basically had to have it out with the appliance manager in the middle of Sears to get a third refrigerator. I just hate feeling taken advantage of and that's what they do because it doesn't affect their daily routine one bit.)

Football Cops

2011-06-23T16:17:00.003-04:00

If I was ever going to sign up for Direct TV, it would be because of Football Cops -- I love the Manning brothers. It's so great the way they can laugh at themselves. This is a show I would watch. Watch the trailer here. (I'd embed it but it's too wide for the blog.)

Give Maytag credit...

2011-06-23T16:11:00.002-04:00

We got new appliances and we need to give Maytag credit ... they are all wonderful. A new gas stove and microwave and dishwasher in the kitchen, and a new front-loading washer and dryer upstairs. The only issue we've had is that the selector dial on the first dryer didn't click properly -- it squeaked instead. We didn't realize initially, but called as soon as it happened. There was no hesitation -- they immediately set up an exchange to get us a new one. The new one works great, but there's a pair of deep scratched on the door to the dryer that Jeni couldn't see at first but jumped out at me because of my height. I called them today, unsure of what their response would be since we had accepted them as they were. But there was no hemming or hawing. They set up a date to come out and fix it. Now that's a week off, so let's see how the guy is who comes out. It works, and a scratch isn't the end of the world, but if it can be right, we want it to be right.

Google's so cool

2011-06-09T22:12:00.001-04:00

I just love the Google Doodles, especially the interactive ones. I made a song!

On my watch list

2011-06-08T17:13:00.001-04:00

I need to remember July 20 for this comic... I really don't buy comic books any more, but this was THE TEAM -- the group that started the Sandman and helped redefine comic books. That was my golden age of comics, although in comics terms it was probably a silver or bronze age. Still, I'd like to see what they put together.

ReadyMade projects

2011-06-07T09:38:00.001-04:00

I've subscribed to ReadyMade magazine for several years now. It has its ups and downs lately, but this is a good list of projects that remind me of why I originally subscribed to the magazine.

Blast from the past

2011-05-30T12:59:00.003-04:00

Doug just linked to the old Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy word game. I remember playing this to death, but never quite getting past one part. Maybe I need to go back and try it again...

Vegetable garden

2011-05-26T10:50:00.003-04:00

Jeni and I planted a vegetable garden a few weeks ago. We bought a raised bed kit from Sam's. I have very little faith in the soil in our yard, mainly clay and sand, so I think the raised bed is a good way to go. When we mixed the soil we added in some compost from our compost bin. Well, the other day when I went out to check on the tomatoes, and squash, and jalapeno peppers (and the random eggplant we accidentally picked up), I noticed that there were all these little sprouts all over the bed. At first I though we had weeds galore. But apparently something from the compost is now in an ideal environment to grow and is taking advantage of it. I don't want whatever it is to overwhelm the plants we intentionally placed, but I'm also intensely curious to see what is growing. I think I'll let some grow that are away from the other plants, just to see what comes of it.

Shaped eggs

2011-05-11T12:46:00.001-04:00

I'm adding heart-shaped eggs to my list of fun things to try. Or maybe a cube or pyramid.

They're getting the band back together

2011-05-06T09:46:00.003-04:00

The creative team behind the original Sandman series, Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth and Mike Dringenberg are doing a story in Hero Comics 2011 coming out in June. I don't really buy comics anymore. I won Tori Amos' Comic Book Tattoo a while back at a silent charity auction but really haven't had the time to sit down and enjoy it. I wanted to get Axe Cop's mini-series, but missed it so I'm waiting for the trade paperback/graphic novel version. But I may have to pick up Hero. I've always enjoyed Sam Kieth's work, and I think that Mike Dringenberg complements him so well, And well, Neil Gaiman goes without saying. So I borrowed a frame of this preview image for my desktop wallpaper for right now. No better reminder than that to make sure I pick this one up.

I can't do this...

2011-04-27T15:31:00.000-04:00

I can juggle, and I think I'm OK, but I can't do this...

Juggling to Tetris

2011-04-21T14:24:00.000-04:00

Here's one to watch later and learn from ...

Reclaiming the yard

2011-04-17T19:38:00.002-04:00

The yard reclamation project is currently underway. We hit the plant sales this week -- Jeni did the annual local farmers plant sale at the farmer's market and got some good stuff, then we camped out for 1-1/2 hours to get in to the botanical garden plant sale (in and out in eight minutes with good stuff). The uniqueness of the botanical garden sale is such a draw. The weather was supposed to be awful, and we did get rained on a bit, but not when it counted. Jeni and I have our system down so we get in and out efficiently -- like the plant version of the day after Thanksgiving.

We got a bunch of the plants in the ground today with a few more left to be planted. But they'll be OK for now.

Just two weeks until the MS walk-a-thon in Marietta with Nikki. This will be our second year at this event, and so happy to be able to support Nikki.

New views for the blog

2011-04-06T14:13:00.003-04:00

Blogger has five additional ways to view the blog. Kind of a fun, fresh view of the blog.

Check out:
Flipcard view
Mosaic view
Sidebar view
Snapshot view
Timeslide view

Working crew at Victor/Victoria

2011-03-27T15:51:00.001-04:00

One of the actors for Victor/Victoria got hurt away from the show, so I got called to duty. His part was just covered or taken out, but they needed help moving a few set pieces. I've done set painting and sound for some simple shows, but this is my first time working crew. I even have a brief two seconds on stage (if you don't notice me then I did it right).

Got back in the gym today -- 15 minutes on the elliptical and upper body. It would be easier if the pollen wasn't getting me sniffly.

Yard work is coming along slowly. We've got good plans to get the yard cleaned up but the weather and V/V isn't cooperating right now. Hopefully I'll get the grass cut one night this week. Just never enough time is there?

Full weekend

2011-03-18T12:44:00.002-04:00

Victor/Victoria opens tonight at Workshop Theatre! We'll be going to opening night. We saw the last dress rehearsal on Wednesday, and worked the house last night for the preview audience. It's a fun show and we're looking forward to it.

There's a roller derby bout on Saturday -- it'll be a good one, and some healthy competition for the QuadSquad (although I'm sure they'll win).

Sunday will be a good bit of yard work. We've got to try to keep those neighbor's weeds from visiting us. Always fun. The botanical garden plant sale is coming soon so that'll give us something to get excited about. We kind of let the yard go a bit last year so this year we're going to wrangle it and get it looking right again.

Closing in on a goal

2011-03-17T14:58:00.002-04:00

I managed to sneak in to the gym on Tuesday. My evening workshop was canceled so I was able to get out of the office early. David was coming over for dinner and Jeni was cooking so I slipped over for a quick run. I did 1.25 miles in just under 17 minutes. I tried to keep a 6 mph pace as long as I could, but it's much easier on the elliptical.

I weigh in daily on the Wii Fit. I know you're really not supposed to weigh in every day, but I like to keep up with the Wii Fit and having the routine is good for me. My weight peaked over the holidays and the new year at 209. I'm now 1.5 pounds from reaching my Stage 1 weight-loss goal of being back under 200. I've never had to really watch my weight until recently, so this is a good thing for me. I want to get it under control sooner than later.

More later...

Gym update

2011-03-12T18:43:00.001-05:00

I made it to the gym the last two days -- 1.57 on the elliptical yesterday in about 20 minutes, then 2 today in 25. I need to see if I can do that pace on the treadmill. Yesterday I also did upper body and shot some baskets (9 of 10 from the free throw line).

Saturday at the gym

2011-03-05T14:43:00.001-05:00

Made it to the gym today -- one mile on the elliptical in 13 minutes, then 17 floors on the stair climber in five minutes (but honestly the last two minutes were tough).

Quick elliptical trip

2011-03-02T20:46:00.001-05:00

I made it to the gym briefly tonight -- finally made it back. It's still there! Sure, it had only been a week, but it felt longer than that. I did 20 minutes on the elliptical for 1.5 miles. Not too bad.

What happened to the gym last week?

2011-03-02T17:38:00.005-05:00

All efforts to get to the gym last week were a wash. The whole week derailed, with the newsletter and two grants for the theatre due, and then on Sunday we woke to Jasper having had an abscess rupture. So we were off to the emergency vet at 6:15 a.m. He's doing OK, although he's not too happy about being sequestered in the bathroom. But he's getting to stay in our room with us at night. The drainage has really decreased, but he's still not ready to be loose in the house yet.

The pan is to get to the gym tonight ... here's hoping!

Gym tomorrow?

2011-02-23T19:49:00.003-05:00

I did have the best intentions of going to the gym tonight, but Jeni needs my help on a grant for the theatre. We really didn't think we'd qualify, but Jeni talked to someone who gave her some pointers, so it's back to the grind. Gym tomorrow instead, then hopefully four days in a row.

Back to the gym Wednesday

2011-02-22T14:51:00.002-05:00

Jeni's back is still giving her some trouble, plus she has a grant that is due soon, so we'll be home working on the grant tonight so it can be reviewed tomorrow and cleaned up. So we'll hit the gym again on Wednesday.

Jeni's back was bothering her the other day when we went. We did manage to walk the track for a mile, and I did a random hill (unsatisfying) program on the treadmill, with a few machines thrown in between. So all in all about two miles of walking, treadmill, and elliptical for me. Jeni did about five miles on the bike after we stopped walking. She plans to get back in the pool tomorrow. Hopefully that will help her low back. (Yes, she's getting adjusted -- it's just a longstanding issue with her.)

Etsy shop to revisit

2011-02-22T12:55:00.002-05:00

Jeni loves browsing Etsy. It's a good way to spend hours upon hours. I like Strange Studios, Lisa Snellings' Poppet Planet site. She also has a blog here, and more poppet stuff here.

Things to remember

2011-02-18T09:31:00.003-05:00

Patients are always giving me names of books or bands or recommendations for whatever. They end up as a stack of random notes on my desk. Here are some of them so I don't forget.

The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin
Band of Heathens
The Big Sky, Guthrie
e-mealz.com
Wilco/Feist, You and I
Cochrane Review for research
Aaron Burton

These are all rather random, and I'll probably search them later and maybe it'll make sense and maybe I'll look and wonder why I was pointed this way. But now they're here and not on slips of paper on my desk. So that's a start.

Thusrday night at the gym

2011-02-18T09:19:00.003-05:00

Jeni and I hit the gym last night, and had a good night there. Jeni did laps in the pool. I think she said she did 3/4 mile in the pool. (I would be 3/4 drowned if I tried that.) I did 1.5 miles on the elliptical and then worked arms really heavy (for me). Feeling it this morning. And we finished with 0.77 miles walking the track. We'll probably miss it today since they close at 6 p.m. but hopefully we'll make it Saturday and Sunday. It's supposed to be very nice this weekend so we're looking at a lot of home/yard projects, too.

Juggling tutorial

2011-02-17T11:15:00.003-05:00

Here's a great juggling tutorial page. I can do a lot of these already, but it's nice to see variations. I'm happy with my tricks that I am proficient in, but I'm always looking to add more. Maybe Burke's Barrage...

Also, the DIY juggling equipment blog by Dube that got me to the page above.

Treadmill time

2011-02-17T10:53:00.002-05:00

I went to the gym last night, despite not really having a lot of energy. It was just one of those days, but I knew I needed to go. I did a quick (for me) 1.5 miles on the treadmill (about 21 minutes) then called it quits. If I could have found the UT/S. Carolina basketball game I might have stayed longer.

But I did get to catch up on some TV last night. I know someone who is on the new season of Survivor. We never watch the show, but now we have to watch and pull for Krista. She can't say how she did or what happened. I couldn't imagine the pressure of not being able to talk about it. The premiere was OK -- not much of her. It's a show you can watch while ironing or doing the dishes.

The Way I Am

2011-02-15T14:36:00.002-05:00

I've been meaning to download The Way I Am, but I have it up and work and forget when I get home.

Back to the gym tomorrow

2011-02-15T09:21:00.003-05:00

This past weekend was a little nuts ... we had Tiffany's birthday and Jeni had a grant she was trying to finish for the theatre. We were supposed to go to opening night of Jocelyn's show, but it all just got to be too much. So we were able to get the house cleaned up and lots of amazing desserts prepared (I cleaned, Jeni cooked -- it's just best that way). The party was a lot of fun. Just nice to get everyone together, although we did get in trouble with Gracie for having an adults party and not a party she could come to. We're making that up with a visit soon. Can't have the six-year-old mad at you.

Jeni completed the grant last night after the board meeting. What did you do on Valentine's Day? Board meeting and grant writing, of course. (Just kidding, VD has never been a biggie for us anyway.) We did go to the Cock and Bull afterward for dinner and the second half of trivia -- made a decent effort considering we only played the second half.

But because of all this we haven't been to the gym in the past few days. I'm not really sure we'll make it tonight. I have my new patient workshop which throws off my evening. But we're definitely getting back at it on Wednesday. I've really enjoyed going to the gym. And although my weight is fluctuating back and forth around where I really don't want it to be, I feel better overall when I go. I've set a goal on the Wii Fit, and basically I have to lose three pounds a week to reach it. This is my third or fourth goal I've set on the Wii Fit since we started on it and I have yet to reach a goal. Actually, I've gone in the wrong direction for the most part. But I'm confident that I'll get this one.

The Curse

2011-02-15T08:05:00.001-05:00

Here's an oddly haunting and sweet song...

Vital moms

2011-02-14T12:39:00.000-05:00

Another website to come back to: Vital Moms

Homemade juggling equipment

2011-02-10T10:29:00.000-05:00

Here's a project to come back to later...

Wish list

2011-02-09T10:37:00.003-05:00

Add to the wish list of things that are cool but that I don't need: The Nintendo 3DS. Also on the list is an iPad, a new cell phone, and endless amounts of juggling equipment.

Monday and Tuesday at the gym

2011-02-08T20:19:00.000-05:00

Just a quick gym update:
Monday I did the elliptical and treadmill. 15 min on elliptical and about 8 or so on the treadmill before I just had to stop. Cooled down shooting baskets.

Tuesday was the treadmill first, for 1.5 miles then upper body and finished with 0.5 miles on the elliptical.

Friday at the gym

2011-02-05T19:45:00.000-05:00

We actually made it to the gym on Friday. We did the elliptical, the bike and upper body. I really liked the elliptical. I'll have to do more of that.

At the gym on Wednesday

2011-02-03T17:10:00.003-05:00

So we made it back to the gym yesterday after a few days away. I was a little slowed by some nagging sinus congestion, which takes some fun out of it (well, takes some fun out of everything). But we made it. We got there around 7:30 p.m. and it was so vacant that we had access to pretty much whatever we wanted, which is good to remember. Really, it's never happened that there was equipment we couldn't use because of the crowd, but it's also nice to know when the quietest time is. Yesterday Jeni and I walked the track for two miles. It was a good little walk, and longer than I've done since we started. Walking the track is very different for me from walking on the treadmill. I have a harder time with it, mainly, I think, because I have to pace myself instead of the equipment pacing me. But I like walking with Jeni. We use her Nike+ with her iPod and it keeps us on pace pretty good. After we finished walking we hit the weight room for a little bit, doing mostly upper body. This weekend will be a miss for me because I have a continuing ed seminar all weekend, sunrise to sunset, which just stinks, but needs to be done. So back at it Monday for me.

Fun magnets

2011-02-03T15:32:00.001-05:00

We'll be having fun with these magnets later.

Flu vaccine article

2011-02-02T13:37:00.002-05:00

This is an interesting piece on the effectiveness of the flu vaccine. Get through his first section section where he vents about the fact that vaccine producers won't do evidence-based research. He has a valid point, but he needs to move more to the meat, which is the Cochrane Collaboration, which is heading toward becoming the gold standard in studies on health care. This is where the facts come out -- that the flu vaccine is effective, at best, 1 out of every 100 people, and that it does not help prevent transmission of the disease. Interesting. Yet as a society we continue to inject this over and over again, faithfully doing what the poster at the grocery store tells me to do.

And while I'm linking to articles, here's a good one on exercise and nutrition.

OK, no gym last night

2011-02-01T17:02:00.002-05:00

So we didn't make it to the gym last night. It turns out the pool was closed for some reason (poop?), and Jeni really likes to swim laps, so we decided to pass on the gym Monday. Tonight doesn't work for me because of my new patient workshop, but we're on for Wednesday. I had the big idea of getting up early and going in, but I have to be honest with myself and realize that that's not happening right now -- not with this schedule I'm keeping (stupid schedule).

Working on the routine

2011-01-30T11:48:00.002-05:00

We had a good first week going to the gym. We were very happy with our progress, and the fact that we could make it to the gym without huge crowds or anything. I know the biggest challenge to getting to the gym consistently is going to be making it a routine. This weekend was a little off I had to run sound for Sealed for Freshness at Workshop Theatre on Friday, so that blew my "go to the gym on Friday" plan. Saturday Jeni had a baby shower and then of course we went to the roller derby so that blew that day. Today has been a slow start because of all the fun we had yesterday, but we'll be heading to the gym this afternoon. Our plan is to get in on the weekends, and try for a day or two during the week. We'll get there ...

Going to the gym

2011-01-28T20:16:00.000-05:00

After our first week going to the community center near our house I can honestly say I am so happy we joined. The people are so nice and I've felt much better. A few late meals have challenged my progress a little but that's an easy fix. We'll be back at it in the morning.

Appliances

2011-01-27T21:31:00.000-05:00

Memo to self: Remember to go to www.homeeverything.com/

Day 3 at gym

2011-01-25T20:34:00.002-05:00

Jeni and I made it back to the gym today. So far that's Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday. I'm very happy about that. I did 1.65 miles on the treadmill in 22 minutes, then worked arms until they started to feel dead and I realized that I needed to be able to work tomorrow. Jeni did 3/4 mile in the pool. Afterward, we walked the lap track for another 3/4 mile. I'm patting us on the back right now...

Gym, Day Two

2011-01-23T15:37:00.000-05:00

Jeni and I made it back the the gym today. She did 50 minutes in the pool. I did 1.59 miles in the treadmill in 22 minutes then did legs. Still able to walk -- barely.

First day at the gym

2011-01-22T20:34:00.001-05:00

Today was our first day going to the community center. While Jeni was doing an hour in the pool I did some cardio and weights -- 1.5 miles and upper body today. We'll be back at it tomorrow, then sound at a matinee, and wrapping up with trivia.

Going to the gym

2011-01-18T08:33:00.003-05:00

So Jeni and I joined a gym on Sunday. We signed up for a year membership. It's less than three miles from the house, so we really have few excuses. I won't say no excuse, because we didn't even get home last night until about 10:30, so there's always that. But our goal is three times a week. That's Friday, Saturday and Sunday and we're good. Throw in a Tuesday or a Wednesday and that's bonus. We'll go tonight or tomorrow to get our cards and line up our orientation sessions. I'm very excited about this.

Welcome 2011

2011-01-04T17:55:00.002-05:00

I have a hard time accepting that it is really 2011. It seems so sci-fi to me, like we should be driving flying cars by now. I'll be honest that I really won't miss 2010. It started out OK, but went down hill pretty quickly. It was a challenging year, but I'm not going to dwell on it. Instead I'll focus on the positive of 2011 -- the fact that we rang in the new year with an amazing group of people (even if we were missing a few), and it has started off positively. I plan on keeping this momentum going. No resolutions -- just resolve.

Almost goodbye 2010

2010-12-30T17:52:00.002-05:00

2010 come in, rushed by, and is almost gone. As years go, it wasn't the best, I'll be honest. There were highlights, sure, but I won't miss 2010. It certainly puts a lot of pressure on 2011 to be a lot better. I have high expectations, 2011 -- I hope you're paying attention!

Dr. Horrible

2010-12-17T08:00:00.001-05:00

I'm not sure if I've linked to this, but I'm doing it again. "With my freeze ray I will stop the world!" I love Dr. Horrible!

Some pictures recovered

2010-12-14T14:00:00.004-05:00

I accidentally deleted some pictures off of the camera's memory card. I'm not really sure how it happened. I was copying some pictures over to the laptop, and when I was done I wanted to delete just the pictures I had selected. Instead, all the pictures were gone, including the one of Jeni, Nanny and me from Thanksgiving -- the only picture of Jeni and Nanny. Well, thanks to the directions of a friend, I went to http://www.snapfiles.com/Freeware/system/fwdatarecovery.html and used Recuva. I was able to get back many of the pictures I lost. Unfortunately, I did not get the picture of Jeni and Nanny back. I guess we'll have to make another trip back to Richmond.

It's beginning to feel like Christmas

2010-12-14T11:19:00.004-05:00

Brr. It is cold here, and I don't say that often about South Carolina. But it is real cold -- whipping wind chilling you to the bone cold. I'm still sticking to the mid-weight coat.

The tree in the family room is up with most of the decorations on it. There are still more to come, just haven't had the time to get them on. Plus there's the smaller tree that goes in the foyer so people from the road can see we have Christmas spirit.

A good chunk of the shopping is done -- unwrapped still, but done. One more gift for the Dougs and that can go out in the mail. I just can't believe there's just one more weekend before Christmas. And it is chock-full, too. Fortunately I'm off next week. It looks like we'll be hanging out at home this year. Maybe we'll get caught up on things around the house. That's the plan, at least.

Last weekend we went to see the Nutcracker with Lisa and Gracie. It was so fun. This is the second year taking Gracie. She's 6 1/2 now, which is a great age for the Nutcracker. To make it more fun, our friend Alexis is one of the ballerinas so throughout the show Gracie kept whispering to Jeni, "Where's Alexis?" After the show Alexis met us in the lobby and Gracie got her autograph and her picture taken with her. Very cute. Gracie then went and got autographs from a bunch of the other dancers but no pictures with the boys, "Not the boys Mom!"

It's Christmas Time

2010-12-09T11:35:00.002-05:00

Christmas is coming very quickly. Our schedule has kept us running in different directions so we have yet to put up our Christmas tree. But it is going up this weekend. My excuse right now is that the cable guy is coming on Friday to figure out why we're not getting a high definition signal to our TV in the family room and the tree would just be in the way.I think the signal strength is low, which was an issue with this room when we had Time Warner, too.

We finally have bedroom furniture on its way. We bought a king size mattress a while ago but have had just the hardest time finding furniture that we liked, that fit the space, or that we were willing to pay for. (Really liked a bedroom set at Crate & Barrel -- didn't like the price.) But we got one that we had looked at several times before, and it will be here Friday (hopefully not at the same time that the cable guy is here). Our bedroom is pretty much bare now as we moved most everything out. We'll finish tonight so when the furniture comes in they can get it put together and in place quickly and easily. It'll be nice to have everything matching and looking right.

The furniture also came with an LG flat screen TV, so we'll have all flat screen TVs now. Hooray for no more bulky, heavy TVs. Now we just need to get those old sets out of the house.

Back on the Wii Fit, again

2010-11-30T17:45:00.002-05:00

OK, I'm trying it again, and at the worst time of the year, too. But I got back on the Wii on Sunday. Weighed in higher than I thought I would. So far I've missed my first two goals that I set on the Wii, so I set a more reachable goal and gave me plenty of time to do it. But the challenge is keeping it up with the holidays. But I know we can do it. (Wii can do it ... )

Thanksgiving visit

2010-11-30T17:31:00.003-05:00

We made it up to Richmond to visit with Nanny for Thanksgiving. It was a wonderful trip, and so nice to see her doing so well. Aside from using a walker, you'd never imagine that she was 92. She still has her wits and her sense of humor, and she is always such a joy to be around.

Mom, Dad and Kelly came down from Cincinnati as well, so we got to see a good bunch of the family. I got to go in a joy ride in Uncle Steven's 911. No -- didn't drive it. But wow! That car really corners like they say.

We've got some pictures that I'll try to upload soon. We got home Saturday evening and Sunday was a pretty lazy day. Between the travel and finishing the play it was just nice to have a down day. The problem with that is now it's crunch time to get the house put back together and get the Christmas decorations up. But it will all happen in good time, as it always does.

Photo light tent

2010-11-16T17:37:00.002-05:00

Jeni likes taking pictures of the food she cooks. She was posting it all on her food blog before she started at the theatre and her time disappeared. But we've often talked about making a photo light tent/box. This DYI looks so easy and practical. I think this is something we can actually do fairly easily, with a lot of items we already have. Now ... just to find some time.

McDonald's follow-up

2010-11-08T13:56:00.002-05:00

So after writing to McDonald's to tell them how incredibly disappointed I was in their food, they sent me a coupon for a free Extra Value Meal. I think they missed the point.

McDonald's letdown

2010-10-26T17:42:00.002-04:00

I know it's a shocker, but we went to McDonald's and were very disappointed by our food. We were coming back from Boo at the Zoo with Gracie and Clara Ann and they were starving so a Happy Meal seemed to be the perfect fix. They enjoyed a portion of their Happy Meals, but our food was less than good. Here's the message I sent to McDonald's through their website. (I figured there's no point in contacting the store...)

I drove through this McDonald's with my wife and our god daughters following Boo at the Zoo. They wanted a McNugget Happy Meal, so I decided to get some McNuggets too and my wife ordered a cheeseburger with no onions, add extra pickles. The Happy Meals were passable for the girl (they're 6 and 3, they don't know better), but I did not get the sauce I requested, so my McNuggets were dry, flavorless and barely edible. My wife's cheeseburger was loaded with onions, the cheese was half-off the burger and there were no pickles. The fries were cold and limp -- appearing uncooked -- so we didn't eat those. I did at least notice that we had no straws before leaving the parking lot, so I ran in and got us straws. Sadly, the only acceptable part of our "value" meal was the drink, which I could get anywhere. It's less a matter of the quality of the food, than the quality of the encounter. Clearly the customer's satisfaction is not a factor when so many requests go unaddressed. The onions were scraped off, so my wife could eat the burger. I choked down a few of the McNuggets without sauce before feeding the rest to the dog (he did like them, by the way). But the fries went straight to the trash. Overall, this simply reminded me why I don't crave McDonald's anymore. I guess I should just stick to the McD's Sweet Tea and get my food elsewhere.

New camera

2010-10-21T14:13:00.001-04:00

Jeni got the Canon Rebel she's been craving, and now we get to learn all kinds of new camera things -- like re-remembering how to use a true camera. I think I'll be spending some time on this site.

Juggling

2010-10-20T14:09:00.004-04:00

I've been trying to do more juggling lately. I want to learn some new patterns -- challenge myself some more. I was looking at Mill's Mess, which I thought I had been doing, but when I read a description I realized that I was off a throw. Hard to explain, because the trick is a "mess" but suffice it to say, I was off. So I found a video on YouTube and, after a few bumbled attempts, figured out where my hands were supposed to be instead of where they had been.

Here's Mill's Mess, the right way.

I've also come to learn that the trick I always called an Egg Beater, maybe for lack of a better name, is called a False Shower. It's one of my favorites.

I tried working on the Factory a little, but I tweaked my shoulder a while back and it's still not 100 percent, so this one is out for right now.

I did a little better with the Box today than last night.

My next challenge I think is Burke's Barrage, but we'll see.

There's a guide I've also been reading online. As long as I've been juggling, I've never truly gotten a grasp of Swap Site Notation. So I'm hoping Ben's Guide will help.

Finding time

2010-10-12T15:01:00.002-04:00

We've been having great weather ... now I just need to find some time to walk.

Getting caught up

2010-10-04T10:24:00.001-04:00

We spent the majority of the day Saturday in the yard. It's so nice to have it looking right again, cut, edged, hedges trimmed, beds redefined. I guess that's what it's like to have a nice weekend and time.

Our Country's Good

2010-10-01T10:55:00.002-04:00

Jeni and I went to see Our Country's Good last night at USC. Jeni will be producing A Few Good Men with the director of Our Country's Good. Because of the play I didn't get on the Wii last night, and my plan to get on it this morning just to weigh in didn't work out either. (I like sleep.) Besides, that would be cheating -- weighing in at night once, then following with a morning weigh-in. So I'll do it tonight. I'm sure it will be better than the other night and the false high. At least it'll make me look good on the chart.

Trying to get (Wii) fit again

2010-09-30T12:38:00.002-04:00

Back in the spring Jeni and I were very good with exercise and we both could really tell. With the demands of the summer and the play, we really fell off the wagon -- Coke, late take-out meals, no exercise at all.

Well, last night I got back on the Wii Fit for about 20 minutes. I had recently eaten dinner followed by some Bruester's Ice Cream (really healthy dinner, but still not fully back on the wagon), so I wasn't surprised that my weight was higher than I had hoped. Back in August I had hopes of being in the 180s by my birthday. 189.9 would have been great. Well, I'm not there because I did nothing to get me there. I'm actually inching the wrong way. So I reset my Wii Fit goal to be 189 by the end of October. It's do-able, especially because last night was a false high. If I weigh today it will be down and make me look good.

I did some serious be-at-the-gym-at-5-am exercising back in 2002 with my friend Matt when we were still in Iowa. I really liked how that felt (getting fit, not the 5 am). But this is the first time that I've ever felt like I needed to watch the scale. I feel for the other scale watchers out there -- it's not fun at all.

So hopefully I'll have a good update after I weigh in tonight. We're going to a preview house of a play at USC tonight, but I'll try to at least weigh in just to be sure that last night was a false high.

Good Bee!

2010-09-27T16:59:00.003-04:00

Jeni produced The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Workshop Theatre. It closed this last weekend. It was a fun play, and a good -- if not exhausting -- experience. She's also producing the next show, A Few Good Men, although I think this one will be less demanding on her. Saturday was a late night, with an after party following the show, and breaking down all the lobby decorations. When we got home I stayed up too late (so late it became early) watching the UT-UAB game. After staying up so late, it's a good thing UT won. It rained on Sunday, so instead of doing the much-needed yard work, we were able to be lazy, lounge in bed with the windows open watching TV with the cats. Nice to have a day to recharge.

Kittens!

2010-09-23T09:15:00.002-04:00

Not letting people's negativity affect me -- instead, I'm looking at pictures of kittens!

No August update?

2010-09-22T09:19:00.002-04:00

I guess I missed doing an August update. This is a result of two things: not much happening, and too much happening. Our routine remains pretty much the same: work, theatre, home, repeat. It's hard to give exciting updates when there is so much of the same.

But the "too much happening" is happening around the theatre. (Yes, spell check, theatre is a correct spelling -- you can stop underlining it.) Jeni is producing The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Workshop Theatre. This involved a whole lot, including getting the cast and crew organized and all on the same page, handling publicity, decorating the lobby (I'll try to get some pictures -- we turned it into a middle school hallway), and much much more. Imagine the stress of the holidays and increase it exponentially. This has disrupted any attempt at a good diet, straight house, well-maintained yard, and decent bedtime. (Who am I kidding, even when the play isn't going on we still don't have a decent bedtime -- always something to do and not enough time.) Producing is very rewarding for Jeni, but when it hits crunch time it definitely takes its toll.

The show has had a good run. Tonight I get to go on stage as a walk-on speller. This is my second time spelling with an audience. Last time I misspelled "atheist." Although I would have sworn I spelled it right (at least in my head), the letters didn't come out in the right order.

Yesterday was my birthday. We had a little party last Friday following a late night fundraiser at the theatre. In conjunction with the spelling bee musical, we decided to have an adult spelling bee -- "Spell Dirty to Me." Since the actual play is middle schoolers (adults playing middle schoolers), we decided to flip the coin and have them in racy outfits spelling dirty words (OK, mostly words that sound dirty -- like titillate or waylaid -- only with sentences that make sure they are dirty). It was VERY funny and very successful, and people were asking when we were doing it again -- sorry one night only.

So afterward we had a little birthday get-together with cake and snacks and whatnot. Yesterday on my actual birthday Jeni and I went to Blue Marlin for dinner. We were there late in the night because Jeni had a play selection meeting for the theatre. Going to a restaurant late during the week almost insures lackluster service. Buddy Holly wasn't much of a waiter, demonstrated by when we had to get the hostess to get him so we could get a refill of our drinks: "Sorry I was talking to some people outside. They were telling me how I looked like Tobey Maguire." (Sorry, Buddy, you don't look like Tobey Maguire at all.) The food was good though.

The play ends on Saturday. Jeni is also producing the next show, A Few Good Men. I don't think she'll over-commit to that one as much. With the show wrapping up, we are going to get back on track. Back in the spring, when we were gearing up for the Walk MS 5K in Marietta, we were walking almost every day and dedicating a lot of time to the Wii Fit. We both could really tell the difference. Recently, with the stress of the show, we have fallen off the wagon seriously -- drinking Coke, eating junk, not exercising. So starting Sunday we are back at it. With that said, I plan on keeping a log on the blog of our exercise. I know the Wii tells me when and how much I've been doing, but maybe if I put it here too then it will keep me more accountable. We'll see. Maybe I'll keep up with the updates, if it helps. Maybe I'll lose track again -- but hopefully not. But at least Sunday you should see something.

Until then ... I guess I need to get all the sweets and junk in my system before I start having to be good.

July update

2010-07-26T13:39:00.002-04:00

Here I go again ... I know ... another month wrap-up. Willy Wonka has been a little absorbing of our time. And when we weren't at the theatre, we were on the road to Atlanta for my cousin Kerry's fantastic wedding. I should post pictures, but they are on Jeni's laptop, and I'm on my lunch break at work avoiding projects I don't want to do at lunch but probably should anyway.

The Willy Wonka postcard turned out really well, and despite taking a dive on the last dress rehearsal, it survived and looks cool. We had one of those long weekends of over-volunteering at the theatre this past weekend, but someone had to do it.

I sat in as Chip in a read-through of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Jeni's producing). The actor playing Chip was performing at another show. It is such a funny show -- I'm really looking forward to it. Sitting in the read-through made me wish I could sing. But I know better.

Pictures will follow soon...

[Let the spam comments begin now.]

The Sao Paulo postcard for Willy Wonka

2010-07-05T10:42:00.000-04:00

Workshop Theatre is putting on Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka as their Summer show. It opens this Friday and we are very excited about it. We have been more involved in the set with this one than any other show we've helped with. Jeni did a lot of bejeweling of part of the set, we've been painting, and shooting video for Mike TV, and setting up the Mike TV computers. And then there's been what seems like our biggest, most visible project: The Sao Paulo postcard. The postcards fly in when the kids find their golden tickets. So Pam traced the postcard for us using an overhead projector, then we took it home to paint it.

Jeni worked on the border while I started the sky.

Here I am working on some of the edges and detail spots around the letters.

This was the postcard after Day 1.

After Day 2 it was really starting to flesh out. We were painting in the hot garage after work.

This is the finished postcard after Day 4. Somewhere is a picture of Day 3, but I guess I didn't upload it to Flickr like I thought. I'll try to add it.

Historical markers

2010-07-02T09:56:00.001-04:00

I always see the historical markers around town, and have always wondered where they all are, or what they all say (especially the ones you drive by too quickly). Now I have a link to them all!

Kitchen Sherpa

2010-06-24T16:53:00.001-04:00

Jeni has a food blog called Kitchen Sherpa, but it's essentially been on hiatus for the last year. She's been very busy and just hasn't had the moments to get the recipes and pictures together to update. It's a shame because she's had some really good food she's fixed. So what I've started doing for her is transferring over the older recipes from this blog that aren't there. That way all her recipes will be in one place. And there are enough recipes that this will give the other blog some content while Jeni gets organized and can update. So go over and check out the meal choices...

Finally cut the yard

2010-06-20T09:55:00.003-04:00

After more than a month and way too many excuses (to the point that I wasn't buying my own excuses), I finally got the back yard cut. I had to get up at 7:45 just to get it finished and still I was overwhelmed by the heat by the end, at 9:30. The edging can wait until next week. Vacations, rain, and heat interfered with the grass cutting this past month, but this is also prime "grow like a weed" time for the grass.

It is also "baby birds in the fern" time. There are at least two baby birds in the hanging fern. It is a very wise place for a nest, except that it usually results in a dead fern since we can't water it like we should. Small price to pay, though. We'll try to get some pictures, but momma bird dive-bombed Jeni yesterday when she was checking things out, and Jeni is NOT a bird fan so this was not exciting for her.

Maggie, the smallest cat, had a new trick, which she just did. When I'm on the computer, she likes to put her stink on the tower, and bumps the button to open the CD drawer.

We're off to work on the Willy Wonka set today. The set needs to be done this week, so Jeni and I are going to chip in with our minimally-skilled hands while trying to stay out of the way.

Oh, and ironically, my last post on spam comments got five comments -- four were spam.

Spam comments

2010-06-07T22:18:00.001-04:00

It seems I get more spam comments than real comments anymore. Now I don't have the blog because I want comments. (I won't complain about getting your comments...) But the spam comments can be exhausting. I have word verification turned on, but apparently there are people who get paid to sit and post these spam comments. What a mundane life.

Exercise update

2010-05-27T20:06:00.003-04:00

Jeni and I have been trying to exercise more recently. Back in the last Summer and early Fall I was trying to do the Couch to 5K program, which I really enjoyed. But the treadmill started to get a little gimpy on me and needed some maintenance and the getting up at 5:40 in the morning to jog before work was wearing me down and making me unpleasant to be around. So I slacked off. But then Jeni wanted to start walking, and we got the Nike+ to go with her iPod, which was a really good motivational tool for us. And recently, we got the Wii Fit Plus, which has helped even more. It really is amazing what that Wii Fit can do for you. Back in January/February, I measured my gut as part of a motivational tool. I've lost an inch (from 38 to 37) since then. I wish I had marked the date, but I really didn't expect to follow up on it too much. I'm especially proud of Jeni, who is working really hard and seeing the results. The last two weeks have been pretty hectic, which means worse food and less exercise, but I think we'll get back on track this weekend.

Neglecting the blog ... bad blogger

2010-05-10T12:49:00.002-04:00

I've been neglecting my blogging here. I know in the past I've had sparse months with just a few posts, but never missed an entire month. The year is simply zipping by too quickly. April came and went and it's not that nothing happened, I just didn't take a few minutes to post anything, or attach a picture or two. We did have a wonderful zoo trip with Gracie and Clara Ann (but that was St. Patrick's Day weekend ...). Something surely happened in April. Think, think...

Well, in May we did the Walk MS 5k with Nikki last weekend (Mother's Day weekend). It was so nice to be able to be there and support her. The walk went very well. I think we had about 11 people walking with our group. Next year we'll be more prepared, and have it down. We did design our own team t-shirts, which was cool because there were a lot of teams out there with their own shirts, so we looked like we knew what we were doing. Jeni came up with the slogan, "We are Nikki King." Essentially, if she is going through this, we're all going through this. We designed a logo borrowing the Virginia Tech VT and colors.

The front...

...and the back.

We were so happy with how the shirts turned out. We're already looking forward to next year and the possibilities.

Month in review

2010-03-30T09:30:00.002-04:00

I can't believe the last update was March 1! (How many blog posts have started that way lately...) I've kind of gotten away from the blog lately. The quick updates on Facebook have been too easy, and the thought-out posts to the blog have been harder to come across. We've been extremely busy. The theatre is very selfish with Jeni's time, and we both struggled with some illness the last two months, which is so unlike us. Happily, we're both on the mend. We've started walking in the evening again, which makes me very happy. We've done the neighborhood lap the last two nights and I just feel so much better having walked a little. It's nice to have that 30 minutes of walking time that is nice and relaxing and away from the noise and errands and chores. We'll be walking in a 5K with Nikki and Co. in Atlanta in May for an MS Walk event. There's more I want to write, but it'll have to wait because it's in my mind, but not flowing to the keyboard right now. But I felt the need to type something. Sometimes it just starts with typing...

Funny comic

2010-03-01T18:03:00.003-05:00

This one is just too funny...

Long and winding road

2010-02-28T21:36:00.003-05:00

Jeni and I made it home after a very long four-day weekend. We went up to Toledo to help Don move down to Mississippi. We got to drive through blizzard conditions heading up the WV Turnpike, then avoided a snow storm blowing into Ohio just in time to get down to Mississippi. We almost stopped to visit Mom and Dad but fortunately didn't because they got three inches of snow, too. We drove a total of 2238 miles, and about 36 hours. We're glad to have been able to help Don move, but also happy to be back home.

Music tips

2010-02-08T12:18:00.002-05:00

Greg asked for music tips... Lately I've really enjoyed Eric Hutchinson. I'm surprised how much I enjoy his cd. And The Fray are very good, too. And Colbie Caillat. And the song Under Control by Parachute is one of my current favorites. I'll try to come back with links when I get a minute.

Because I'm a geek...

2010-02-08T12:16:00.000-05:00

...I find this really interesting.

Misc thoughts

2010-02-03T14:00:00.003-05:00

Well, I've been neglecting the blog a bit lately thanks to the lazy random postings on Facebook instead. But just a few thoughts here ...

Lately, I'm feeling more and more like a music junkie again. I got a few iTunes gift cards for Christmas and started visiting the iTunes store more, and taking my iPod with me. Surprise, surprise ... there's actually some good new music out there afterall. I've found a lot thanks to my XM radio. I can't tell you how much I like the satellite radio. Much more than I ever imagined. It's worth the mild monthly rate to not have commercials constantly. Plus I'm hearing music that local commercial radio would never have introduced me to. So thank you, XM.

We were very happy to have LOST back, even if they insist on introducing even more new characters in the final season. As for favorite TV shows, I think 24 has run its course. I'm convinced that the writers have some sort of Jack Bauer Mad Lib that they are using to write the show now because it all seems so formulaic. I keep watching, but this is definitely my time to iron my clothes for the week, because I surely don't have to pay attention anymore.

I had another thought, but I lost it somewhere between the last sentence and this one. Bummer.

Axe Cop

2010-01-28T12:51:00.001-05:00

I just may have a new favorite super hero -- Axe Cop! The stories are from the mind of a five-year-old and put together and illustrated by his 30-year-old big brother/comic book artist.

Hello 2010!

2010-01-06T13:33:00.002-05:00

How on Earth did I make it through an entire month without any kind of blog post?!? Not even some obscure link -- nothing! It's not because nothing was happening in my life. On the contrary, it was because there was just too much going on. We just never stopped at all in December. I think we were getting home after 9:00 and sometimes after 10:00 every night up until Christmas.

I need to upload some Christmas pictures, because we had a very nice Christmas this year. We spent Christmas night with Lisa, Brian, Gracie and Clara Ann helping them get ready for Santa to come. And then Christmas morning with two little ones was so much fun. There's just no beating the enthusiasm of a child on Christmas morning.

And then after Christmas we went to Gatlinburg for a visit with my family. We had to take the detour around the rock slide on I-40 (taking 25/70) and it felt a little easier than 40, actually. And it was so nice to see the Dougs, and of course Mom, Dad, Kelly and Sassy. And there are some good pics from that trip too, hanging out on Facebook, but not on Flickr yet. But they will be up soon-ish.

We welcomed in the new year with Tiffany, Tish, Susan and Judy, with a calm night and a disappointing football game. We actually missed the ball drop while we tried to watch some goofball do an anticlimatic stunt car just that ran long. Oops.

Jeni and I both got QLink pendants and started wearing them on New Year's Eve. This is without a doubt the most "new age" thing I've ever tried, but I have to say that I am encouraged by the promise of the QLink, and intrigued by some of the subtle changes I've noticed so far. So we'll see. I know people who swear by the QLink, and it can only help to wear it. I'll report back.

It would be a boring post with no pictures at all, and for those of you who just skim and look at pictures, here you go. These are the master bedroom curtain Mom made for us (thanks Mom!).

December right around the corner

2009-11-28T10:22:00.002-05:00

As the last post indicated, we've been a little busy. And now December is right around the corner. Wow. Before you know it we'll be writing 2010. Where are the flying cars? That's what I want to know.

Jeni and I had our 14 year anniversary last week on Wednesday the 25. It's amazing to think that 14 years can go by so fast. It really does feel like just last year that we were married and on our way to Amelia Island for our honeymoon. We always said we'd go back for an anniversary, but that hasn't happened yet. Maybe next year. Who knows?

We went out to do a little Black Friday shopping, but our first stop was a dud, and we weren't really excited about many of the other stops, so we decided sleep was better. The sales will still be out there. They always are.

It's an amazing day for South Carolina, and the leaves are calling. Time to do some yard work.

In the blink of an eye

2009-11-12T08:32:00.003-05:00

And poof, just like that, it's November 12 ... Jeni's play is into it's second week and for the most part the "producer" part of the play is done for the time being, but that doesn't mean Jeni's not busy at it. She always finds something to keep her going. Yesterday was one of the crew's birthday, so we were up celebrating before the show, then watched the first scene before heading home to work on some promotional mini-flyers to take around today at lunch. Always staying on the go.

The cast and crew of Same Time, Next Year ... with a two actor show, it's easy to get everyone in one picture. In the back are Chip (George) and Vicky (Doris), and sitting in front, from left, Pam (Producer), Frank (Stage Manager and yesterday's birthday boy), Jocelyn (Director) and, or course, Jeni (Producer).

We had a 50th birthday party for Barbara before she left for Japan with her mother for two weeks.

Jeni made this amazing chocolate cake, and her classic coconut cake, both of which were great that night, but better as breakfast the next two mornings.

We also hung the window treatment that Mom made for us just before the party. It looks really good and is a nice touch on the office. I have absolutely no vision for fabrics or curtains and leave this all up to Jeni's eye and Mom's sewing machine. But it makes such a difference to have something hanging over the windows.

We also hung curtains in the dining room. We've been struggling to decide how to do it, and decided to just go with some curtains from Target for the time being, basically to have something for Barbara's party and then once we decided, we'd put the "right" ones up. But as it turns out, we bought the "right" ones the first time. It seems we were looking for the wrong thing the whole time, and when we bought the ones from Target (love Target), it worked out. Who knew?

Tomorrow is Friday the 13th, so get your lucky whatever's out ...

Hectic start to November

2009-11-02T20:48:00.003-05:00

November is starting off pretty hectic. Jeni is producing Same Time, Next Year at Workshop Theatre and it opens on Friday. She's also doing props, and anything else they need, while also serving her role as interim director of the theatre. So right now she's spending more time there than home.

We got so busy that on Halloween we didn't even get a chance to carve our pumpkins, and that's a big deal. But things'll have to slow down eventually. But we did have about 50 trick-or-treaters, so that was nice. Just not as many Tootsie Rolls left over as I would have liked.

The treadmill and I haven't connected lately. It's been about a week and a half since I was on it last. It's my fault, although I'd like to share the blame with the treadmill somehow. I had the best intentions this morning, but the time change has somehow managed to make me MORE tired instead of giving me more rest. Go figure.

I taught a juggling class tonight for an improv group at Workshop. The female lead in the show teaches the class, but had rehearsal tonight so I stepped in. There were about 12 or 14 kids there, in a warm tight space (oh, the smell of sweaty kids). There were a handful who really showed potential. I'd love to get them in a smaller group and teach them some cool stuff. I pushed their skill levels, teaching them a lot of partner tricks. There was a lot they couldn't do, but I wanted them to have at least attempted the throws with me there so they had some kind of muscle memory of the pattern. Hopefully I'll be able to work with them again soon.

I looked up the old Star Wars Holiday Special online today. It was one of those things that came on when I was a kid, but then as I got older I somehow convinced myself that I had made the whole thing up. So I'm happy to see it resurface online like everything else does -- even if it looks a lot worse than I could have ever imagined.

A reference to the Star Wars Holiday Special was made on one of the comics on this page, but not this really cool one here. I have to say, I can't imagine the work that went into this one. (This is the one that referenced the holiday special.)

OK, this post is getting way too long now, and I'm not really saying much, so I'll end it here.

(OK, I wanted to post something else here that was funny, so I could end it here instead, but had nothing funny to post, so instead you get the concept of a funny-haha.)

No October update?!?

2009-10-24T10:16:00.002-04:00

Has it really been almost a month since our last blog update? I can't believe it! All those "micro" updates on Facebook have stolen my attention from this instead. But I'm going to make a better effort. The blog is a better journal of what has happened in our lives.

We're about to head out on a rainy Saturday morning to hunt for props for the show Jeni is producing -- Same Time, Next Year. It's a two-man show and is coming together nicely.

We went to Boo at the Zoo last weekend with Lisa, Brian, Gracie and Clara Ann. Gracie was the perfect age for the event, and it was so much fun. She trick-or-treated around the zoo, we roasted marshmallows, and the girls got to pet a rat and a hissing cockroach (of Madagascar).

It feels like we've been running in so many directions lately. We hardly even settle down at home before I feel like we're getting ready to go do something else. I'd love a week off just to take care of all the home projects I feel are being neglected. But then I'd want a week to recover from all of that...

Last week was my worst week of exercising since I started on the treadmill. I only walked on the treadmill once, on Monday. Overslept the other days, although I did some push-ups and sit-ups one morning since I didn't have time for the treadmill but wanted to do something. Start fresh next week I guess.

OK, sounds like I'm just rambling now ... off to the rain and the Great Prop Hunt!