Archive

  • ▼  13 (1)
    • ▼  August (1)
      • 1,219 days later
  • ►  10 (4)
    • ►  April (1)
    • ►  March (1)
    • ►  January (2)
  • ►  09 (102)
    • ►  December (1)
    • ►  November (1)
    • ►  October (3)
    • ►  September (6)
    • ►  August (11)
    • ►  July (5)
    • ►  June (9)
    • ►  May (7)
    • ►  April (10)
    • ►  March (9)
    • ►  February (14)
    • ►  January (26)
  • ►  08 (62)
    • ►  December (16)
    • ►  November (18)
    • ►  October (10)
    • ►  September (12)
    • ►  August (6)

Blogs we follow

  • ...........Gray Wolf B & B
  • Apostrophe Catastrophes
    You Give Moms a Bad Name
    1 year ago
  • Chaos At The Kraber House
    Oregon Vacation
    17 years ago
  • Our Happy Hambel Zoo
  • Schorr Racing Hot Rod Shop
  • The Bonnetts
    is anyone still following?
    16 years ago
  • the Happy Medic
    Quit Being Weird
    6 years ago

Following us to Freedom

Shelfari: Book reviews on your book blog
Fairy Art of the Day

Favorite Spots

  • Firegeezer.com
    How Brisbane Businesses Can Prepare Their Premises for Storm and Flood Season
    3 weeks ago
  • What is Tanga Selling?
    Battlefield 6 - Xbox Series X
    3 weeks ago
  • woot!
    The North Face Women's Full Zip Jacket
    8 years ago
  • woot! shirt
    Alive Again
    8 years ago
  • woot! wine
    Gustus Vitae Pantry Starter Kit (12)
    8 years ago

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Since September?

I was going to make an announcement in these pages, but now it doesn't seem like such a big thing.
Morgan is officially potty trained. There I said it and you can mark me on that. If she's awake, she's in control.
I went through the archives here thinking we started this much later than I thought. September 16th was the day, this was the post. I just can't believe it took this long. A few weeks I figured, but the accidents just kept happening, one here, 2 the next day, a day with none, then 1, it was getting frustrating.

But today she was golden, not having to be reminded of the importance of the action, just doing it, naturally.

So there.
Oh and Eliza is talking.
at 2:21 PM 4 comments

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Of all the houses to go to for help

Years ago, when my parents were visiting, you all may recall the girl who came screaming that her house was on fire. Of all the houses to go to for help, she got me and dad searching the house and putting the fire out while mom kept her calm and phoned it in. The house was saved and we have a great picture on the fire extinguisher we used of me and dad in front of the house.

Kim was at work that day and missed all the excitement.

Today, however, the excitement caught up with her.

Eliza and I were out shopping and returned home to see Kim on the from walk with a woman with a baby. I assumed since she had recently returned from playgroup this was a new mom visiting.
When I exited the car and she said, in her stern voice, "Justin, I need you here please," my mood changed.

Kim had heard a shout, then a ring of the doorbell and calls for help. The mother of the 3 month old was asking Kim to call 911 becasue the baby was "unresponsive."
With Morgan in the house and not knowing what to do, she said, "OK I'll call" and went inside to do so.
Back outside with mom and child Kim notes the baby is breathing and seems fine, but is wishing I would hurry up and get there already.

When I did my Paramedic thing the baby was tired and might have been sick, hard to tell without my tools of the trade.

Sirens were getting closer and it was a police officer that arrived on the scene first. Then another policeman, then the local Engine company, who took over care and gave the little one some oxygen.

Morgan was quite excited to see the fire engine pull up in front of her house.

The ambulance arrived and baby was taken to the back for a better look and our work was done. Morgan waved goodbye and told me all about how the baby was in the back of the ambulance now.

I'm just glad I got home when I did. Had I been 5 minutes later in returning I would have seen this infront of the house and thought the worst:
at 3:26 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

The girls, they are a growin'

A few nights ago Kim made Eliza bowl of cereal, then went to get something when she heard from behind her a little voice say, "Here you go sweetie." This is what she saw:

at 4:13 PM 1 comments

He's a silly man daddy

Kim hates when I get political on this blog, but I can't resist after watching Louisiana Governor Jindal give the Republican "response" to last night's Presidential Address.

He had a used car salesman slime as he talked about the dangers of Federal spending while accepting billions for Katrina relief (Which was needed). Now he claims he will refuse the funding to extend jobless claims to ensure those without work have basic medical coverage. On "principal." He didn't flinch when they gave away 100s of billions to investment banks without strings in the dead of night. And now we find out the money is just plain gone. Wasted and we have nothing to show for it. Not 1 job, not 1 repaired pot hole.

We watched the President's address last night and were impressed to see a man in control who can speak clear English. That aside, I always enjoy seeing one political party stand and cheer while the other remains seated, hands clasped. When the old President used to talk about military spending of 2.8 Trillion for Iraq (which is now included in the Federal budget for the first time EVER) everyone cheered and no one questioned the debt it would create.

Suddenly we have to put Americans back to work and they freak it costs too much.

I saw a statistic recently that if you spent a million dollars a day, since the beginning of the Christian Calendar (Birth of Jesus of Nazareth) everyday you would still not have the money in the stimulus bill.

But imagine if we had invested that million dollars a day to build and repair roads, fight cancer and build a reliable power network.
Our nation wouldn't be falling apart from within but would be strong, not just on paper.

And if you spent 4 million dollars per day since the beginning of the Christian Calendar and watched 2 brave soldiers die, each year, you would have the cost of the Iraq war alone.

Who is irresponsible with creating debt for our children?

Not to mention the $3.5 billion and counting profit for contractor Halliburton.
Halliburton makes more money per quarter than Exxon, the most profitable corporation in America. Halliburton is based in Dubai, UAE (United Arab Emirates) the home country of at least 3 of the identified 9/11 hijackers. They accept American Tax dollars, but moved away to avoid paying taxes on their profits.

I'll climb off my soapbox now.
This morning, while watching the Today show which featured an interview with Gov Jindal, Morgan walked by, stopped and looked at him and said, "He's a silly man daddy."

Yes he is sweetie. Yes he is.
at 7:15 AM 1 comments

Thursday, February 19, 2009

The Kitchen is finished!

Thanks for waiting for updates on the kitchen, it's been a mad house here with the construction.

So here it is as it was:
Dirty tile, tiny island. It was driving us absolutely nuts.
Then, as you know, we tore it out.

Then they came and put the new stuff in and WOW. Here's another time lapse video, taking a .5 second section every minute.



The product is Corian and looks fantastic in the kitchen, pulling out the gray of the hardware and the red of the cabinets.
And the installation went so well, they went beyond my lofty expectations. He spent hours grinding and polishing, sanding and cutting to get everything to not only fit right, but to cover any blemishes from the tear out. He truly is a craftsman and it shows, the pieces fit perfectly to our unperfect kitchen.

In the end I'm bummed I can't have them back to fix anything else around the house.

So here it is now:
at 2:51 PM 5 comments

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

How to tear out a kitchen in 2:39

A special thanks to Dylan for helping to make today's installation possible. I'm still waiting for the new counters to arrive, so until they do, here's a look at yesterday's fun.



The camera took .5 seconds of video every 30 seconds.
at 10:41 AM 0 comments

Friday, February 13, 2009

An experiment in gaslessness


I got an add fuel warning in the prius on the way to work yesterday. It happens when there is 1 gallon remaining in the tank, which will usually get us 40-50 miles before needing a fill up.
On the way home, the only real accessible gas station was crowded and there was no way I was getting in anytime soon, so I decided to conduct an experiment.
When will I A) Run out of gas completely and B) When will the batteries give out?

So onto the freeway and away I go. Everything was just fine until the last hill before our town. On the way up the gas motor gave out, the check engine light came on and I slowed to 54 MPH. I was able to safely get over to the slow lane just before we crested the hill and came back down, so I was able to pick up speed. I got off at the first exit before noticing there is no gas station there. At the light at the bottom of the ramp I realized I could safely do 54 MPH to the next exit where I knew there was a gas station. Green light, I got back on.

As I exited at the next ramp, the battery indicator went from 3/4 charge to 1/4 charge and as I made the turn towards the Shell station I felt the electric motor not responding to my pushes on the gas.

I coasted into the parking area and awaited someone to move. Then got worried I would have to push my car into a gas station. How embarrassing in a hybrid no less. I turned the car off just as someone began to move. When I started the car, I was able to get it into drive just enough to pull me into the pumps, where I filled it up.

In total, in my 10.2 gallon tank, I did 511 miles with a car generated MPG of 44.6. Not sure which one is mis-calibrated, the gauge or the car. I guess it didn't worry about calculating mileage when the gas motor turned off.

But now I know if I run out of gas I can go 54 MPH.
at 7:28 PM 0 comments

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Night Shots

A steady day here at Engine 26. It's a quiet little Engine Company up on a hill. I was stationed here last watch and wished I had brought my camera. When I found out I was coming back I made sure to pack the camera and was glad I did. More on the flickr slide show on the left.





at 8:38 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Random girl stuff

A lot sitting on the camera lately, but with no real time to upload it so here goes:






at 3:04 PM 0 comments

Sunday, February 8, 2009

He's comitting fraud, Honey

At the grocery store today I met one of the many folks on this planet that simply do not get it.
They don't understand how things work and how the universe flows gently if you let it. Like if you let the guy with one item ahead of you in the store, he gets along sooner and your time is barely affected.
If you let the person flying down the onramp take their rightful place in line, the traffic keeps moving, as opposed to him flying all the way to the front, making everyone else slow down.
Those are general examples, but back to the jerk I met today.

The girls and I went to the store and on the way out, cart full, we saw a giant black 4x4 truck parked in the handicapped spot. This was the closest picture I could find online:

The one we saw was a giant GMC and had running rails you could use to climb in with. This truck was so big even I at 6'3" would have trouble climbing in.
As we approached it, making our way to the middle of the lot, Morgan commented on how big the truck was.
"It must be hard climbing up there all handicapped," I commented to her.
"It sure is" said the man who was walking just infront of us as he turned away from his tiny wife and went to put the groceries in the backseat of the truck.
I can't pass this and not say something.
"Hang on sweetie," I tell Morgan, "we're going to help this handicapped man into his big truck."
"Can we help you?"
"I don't need help getting in my own truck." He quipped.
"I just figured since you're handicapped you must certainly need help getting in there, we're happy to help."
"My sister is handicapped." He fires back.
"Then we can help her?" I looked briefly at the wife.
"This is her truck and she's handicapped."
Riiiiiiiiight I think to myself as we turn away.
"What is that man doing Daddy?" Morgan asks setting me up like no preparation could have done. "He's committing fraud Honey, let's go home."

As he backed out and began to pull past us, he slowed down just enough to see me smiling and waving, then he literally sped away through the grocery store parking lot.

I hate those people. Somewhere there's an actually handicapped person circling looking for a spot these yahoos take up.
at 12:01 PM 1 comments

Morgan the 'Fiter Fighter'

I wish I had thought to get the video camera for this, but it was more fun to be a part of what was happening.

Morgan found an empty wrapping paper roll and decided it was a "slide pole" at the fire station.

She called me over and said, "Daddy, do you want to learn how to be a fiter fighter?"
"OK," I said with Kim smiling in the background.

"First you have to put on your fire fighter helmet." She went and got one of the little plastic helmets Jerry got for her birth and put it on.

She came back to where I was and asked me to hold up the cardboard roll. "Now you slide down the slide pole to the fire engines and go put out the fire."
"How do we put the fire out?" I asked her
"We use the water hose."
"Well go get one! Hurry, the fire is burning!"
She came running back over with an Eliza toy that closely resembled a nozzle and she got in front of me.
"Let's crawl down under the smoke and heat" I told her and she crawled low, nozzle out in front, helmet on and got to where Kim was and crouched back on her heels and began to 'put the fire out'.

"Isn't there some paperwork, training and certifications we have to take, not to mention training drills?" I ask her.
"No daddy. Just slide down the slide pole and put the fires out."

That's what I thought too, kid. That's what I thought too.
at 7:17 AM 1 comments

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

How to quiet her down

We devised a way to keep Eliza from screaming for attention during dinner:




Worked for 5 minutes.
at 7:31 PM 1 comments

Something she can watch

Morgan needed to be distracted for a few minutes today so I threw in a secret weapon I've been saving for just such an occasion. The Electric Company.



The pace is much slower and less in your face than what she had been watching before, but I heard her say, "Daddy, look, they're reading letters!"
She's not, but hey, she's enjoying it.

In other news we decided on our countertops today and they'll be installed on the 17th. We are beyond excited to get rid of this crappy tile and grout.
at 4:38 PM 0 comments

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Kitchen Day 2 - Final

While the girls went to a superbowl party with friends, I was able to finish up the build on the bar. Take a look...










And what better way to enjoy the build than a beer with my girls?
at 6:45 PM 1 comments

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Kitchen Day 1 - Finish

Had to finish what I could when Kim went back to work for a few hours and my apprentices had to occupy one another.


After the brackets arrive, the bar top goes on and we await the opportunity to paint and stain everything to match.

Now it will sit until Sunday.
at 6:54 PM 1 comments

It has begun

Kitchen Remodel - Take 2, Day 1

When we moved into our house in July, the kitchen was in desperate need of new cabinets and counter tops. Not having the budget for both we opted to do the cabinets before we moved in and the counter tops later. That was remodel Take 1.

The time has come for Remodel Take 2.

Today's project was removing the tile counter top from the island and prepping it for the building of the bar top.


That went rather quickly and I was able to move on to modifying the base. I removed the area to the right, which is where the wine fridge will move to, and removed material to run the new support structure.

Now the structure is being fit to the cabinets, which will allow for the attaching of the bar top when the brackets arrive. For now it will wait, roughed in until Sunday, when I get back from work.
More updates then.
at 1:55 PM 2 comments

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Morgan's new 'do

Before everyone freaks, she loves it and that is what matters.

at 1:24 PM 3 comments

When Eliza gets bigger and bigger

Morgan often tells us all about when Eliza gets bigger and bigger.
"Daddy, when Eliza gets bigger and bigger, she can play with Morgan toys."
"I give this to Eliza when she gets bigger and bigger."

Well, we're getting there alright.

Eliza has been in her new car seat, having outgrown the other one (22 lb maximum) and is now in a nice comfortable rear facing wonder of a seat. That means she is out of the carrier, so no more snap and go stroller, one of the 3 necessities of parenthood these days.
It also means she's sitting up in the cart or at the restaurant.
Last night we ventured out to dinner and Eliza got to sit at the table with us instead of cooped up in her carrier and she was all the flirt we knew she was. She talked, banged on the table and stared at a couple a few tables away. Eliza being as adorable as she is (non biased opinion) won them all over.
A part of me, and I'm sure Kim, saw this milestone coming, but didn't think we'd be there already. She's only 7 months old for Pete's sake.
Eliza is also on the verge of crawling, right about on schedule with her sister. We were looking at some old video of Morgan's first crawls (Gods all that hair!) and looked at Eliza and sighed.
They do grow up so fast. Granted I wish they'd skip ahead to the following directions, using the toilet alone, sleeping through the night part, but I'll take whatever I can get.

Yesterday I got a great 2 hour nap with Eliza. One of those Daddy naps where she sleeps and I just give her little kisses on her head.


every father's worst nightmare

A few days ago the girls helped me wash the car.I figure it will take me 16 years to get used to this thought, so let's get started on it.












Morgan is becoming quite the artist. She draws wonderful (non biased) pictures of stick figures she calls "happy faces" and LOVES to take pictures, especially of Eliza. She's not bad either. She took this picture just the other day, Kim only turned it on for her.
Eliza's bottom teeth are clearly visible from space now and she enjoys chewing everything she can find.
More updates as they happen from Carriage House.
at 7:39 AM 1 comments

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

I wish I was this clever

More on the girls tomorrow, but first, fun with Google Maps.

In case you didn't know, Google Maps has been sending cars around to collect a street view of the nation. Maybe you've seen the little VW bugs with strange triangle mounted on top, well, they're taking 360 degree pictures as they drive. the idea is that you can type in an address, get the directions and then see what it looks like from the street.

Well the folks at woot! posted a recent link to a certain street that knew when the cameras were coming.

Street with a View
was a kind of art project that lines the street with different gags to catch on google street view. Now their street will forever have a marathon, marching band, mad scientist, sheet rope escape and medieval battle.

Too fun.
at 8:18 PM 0 comments

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Next Blog Adventure!

Ever notice that button up near the top that says "next blog"? Well, it take us to a random blog on blogger.com
This morning, while waiting to buy tickets to see Wicked, I decided to take an adventure into the "Next Blog."

What I found was mostly in other languages or personal family stuff, but the rest was very interesting. And since the Blog universe keeps growing, I think I'll revisit the button on occasion and bring you the highlights.

So without further fanfare, let's start the
Next Blog Adventure!

We begin our adventure by learning everything we wanted to know about...well...what are those things? That's what I want to know and will learn from:
http://haworthia-gasteria.blogspot.com/

After getting our fill of succulents, let's cleanse the palette with something tasty from Poor Girl Eats Well Now if I spend more than $5 at the store, I'm going to feel wasteful.

I'm not entirely sure what this site is about. They're Korean and apparently REALLY want someone to high 5 them.

Stumbled onto a neat concept (I hope), a blog titled simply 365. there are only 2 entries so far so I might just wander back and see how the year progresses. Glad I didn't find it on day 364, what a lot of reading.

The 365 folks might need this blog, a happy place to think about the future, before they make plans for day 1356.

Completely useless blog of the day award to: Softwares

The Pope is always getting into trouble with that new puppy of his. Follow along with his adventures in Vatican City on the Pope's Blog

And sometimes you get Gold. Everyone remembers Grandma Taylor was a stickler for proper punctuation and grammar and constantly corrected even school teachers on their use of you're vs your. So I will now be following the Apostrophe Catastrophes.
at 9:37 AM 1 comments
Newer Posts Older Posts Home
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)