Jenee and I decided that the funnest way to tell her Mom she was expecting was using our Wedding Album as a decoy. First I should say that Linda had no idea, nor was she expecting this as Jenee had told her we had stopped trying (which we had).
We printed a new wedding album with a surprise last page for her. It had pictures of the pregnancy tests (one of which is digital, having PREGNANT written nice and large) as well as a copy of our first ultrasound.
Upon arriving in Texas, we went out to a late dinner with Linda and Joe and Uncle Sam and Aunt Karen. Karen as observant as always saw what I was holding and asked what it was. I mentioned it was a gift for Linda and at that point handed the album over to Linda, who with much joy and excitement, opened it up and went through each page slowly. It was torture. Both Jenee and I had our adrenaline pumping, yet we couldn't say anything...
Hahaha, priceless. Notice how it took Aunt Karen about 0.1 seconds to figure it out! Apparently all that country air is not doing her that much good? Apparently when she saw the sonogram she read "North Florida Womens" and her brain filled in "State Penitentiary", so that look of confusion was her trying to think why we have a sonogram for a pregnant lady in jail (or so she says). We used similar tactics to break the news to a few other family members:
Saturday, December 26, 2009
A Scare Turned Blessing
I have discovered that internet is a mixed blessing. You really can create your own reality when it comes to Google. When we were trying to get pregnant, it was amazing at how many "signs" of pregnancy there were. I could have Googled, "I grew and elephants ear" and like 6 other people would agree that they had experienced this as their earliest sign of pregnancy. Well on Thursday, November 19, 2009 we had a bit of a scare. My only theory is that I was working out a little to hard and noticed very little bleeding. Well of course my first response is GOOGLE!! Oh my goodness, we got so many responses it was crazy. Nate and I agreed to call the doctor just in case this was in fact an alien birth or quads. When we called, to my surprise the nurse, who I love in the first place already (I have only met her once before) made me an appointment immediately. I arrive at the Dr's and of course I am in my workout clothes, thank goodness I at least rinsed off the night before but my hair was really gross and lets just say, I try not to wear shorts willingly in public places but the doctor met them. Anyway, to get to the blessing, we met our doctor for the first time and we immediately love her, and she quickly decided that the bleeding was probably from over-working and she would do an ultrasound just to put our mind at ease. Keep in mind that Nate and I still don't REALLY believe we are pregnant still at this point. But there was no doubt about it. We saw our little chipmunk's heart beating so fast. Still not looking like the baby that will come out in July but still one of the most precious and exciting sights we have seen. She even gave us a picture. Keep in mind, our first ultrasound wasn't scheduled until December 11th.
Thursday night, I just remember being terrified by what I was reading on the net. I just remember standing in the shower being so worried and telling the Lord, "I know YOU are in control and I know that I want his plan for our lives, but I am scared that I am not ready for the plan if it involves losing our baby." On Monday, after the fear had settled and we had picture in hand (don't think we didn't carry that puppy around the rest of the day) I was looking at facebook and Rebekah had the most real quote that summed up my moment of fear, "We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be." - CS Lewis. That is truly what I was going through. I did not doubt that I wanted what God had for us as a family, but I was still so terrified of what the best was to bring. But no matter what the outcome, we would be praising our Lord! Nate and I have been truly blessed finding such a wonderful doctor when we knew no one, and to be able to see our sweet baby.
Thursday night, I just remember being terrified by what I was reading on the net. I just remember standing in the shower being so worried and telling the Lord, "I know YOU are in control and I know that I want his plan for our lives, but I am scared that I am not ready for the plan if it involves losing our baby." On Monday, after the fear had settled and we had picture in hand (don't think we didn't carry that puppy around the rest of the day) I was looking at facebook and Rebekah had the most real quote that summed up my moment of fear, "We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be." - CS Lewis. That is truly what I was going through. I did not doubt that I wanted what God had for us as a family, but I was still so terrified of what the best was to bring. But no matter what the outcome, we would be praising our Lord! Nate and I have been truly blessed finding such a wonderful doctor when we knew no one, and to be able to see our sweet baby.Our Little Suprise!
How we found out
Well, some of you out there know we had been trying to start a family for a year now. We had tried all the advice we could find and still we were not pregnant. This was becoming quite disheartening but we had put this all in the Lord's hands so we knew that what ever was to happen was His plan for us. Jenee had started working out at Crossfit (a Marine style workout) and was getting in really awesome shape so perhaps we could start trying again in January as she didn't want to travel internationally as a preggy mommy. So we actually stopped trying. About 2 weeks later Jenee experienced a bazaar flare up from some earrings she has worn for many years. Then, she started complaining of a stitch in her side. A little wary, she decided to test if she was pregnant just in case, as she was on some medication the Dr had told her not to get pregnant on. Well, to her surprise there was the faintest of faint lines on the test. She brought the test to me to see if I saw what she was seeing and I agreed, there was a second line there, but it was very faint. So, to be safe she stopped her medication, and we decided to wait a few days and test again. Guess what, we tested again, and the second line was there, still faint, but more visible then before. Excited but used to disappointment we cautiously started to celebrate, but agreed to test one more time in another few days. And wouldn't you know it, that faint line was nice and pronounced! We're pregnant - woooohoooo!
Still after 3 tests we were in disbelief. So we did what we needed to and made a Dr's appointment. Randomly, we were assigned the nicest Dr we could have hoped for and about 2 weeks after we found out, we had our very first ultrasound which you can read about above.
Keeping the secret quiet
That's no mean feat. Bubbling with excitement, Jenee and I had to dodge the topic with our parents, family and friends when on the phone. We came so close to spilling the beans so many times, however since this is to be our first, we wanted to tell Jenee's parents in a special way and we had planned to tell my parents and sisters in Australia as a kind of Christmas surprise. Well, at least that was the plan. Needing to tell someone otherwise we may physically burst, we decided to tell my parents early (since they typically don't get to find out anything about us first).
We got them on Skype and I casually dropped the line that we were pregnant. It took a second for them to process what I had said, but once it did sink in, there were tears of joy and smiles that couldn't stop. What an adreniline rush, its so exciting to tell someone that you're expecting a baby.
A week passed and we decided that we had to tell someone else or once again we might spontaneously rupture so we decided that we'd tell Rob and Sarah because they are our closest friends (figuratively and literally), and if we needed them, they would be there for us. Then a few days later (apparently you should not trust us with exciting news...) we decided to tell my sisters. Helen was ecstatic, Heather apparently had figured it out when she heard both of us on the phone but was equally excited for us.
Telling Momma (J's Parents)
We decided that Linda needed to find out in a special way. I won't say much hear because there is a video that is far better to watch than reading my words...
And the Crazy food things start
Really, Jenee hasn't had as rough of a time as I was expecting. Not to say that it has been a pleasant walk in the park. She's nauseaus and has some pretty uncomfortable indigestion which leads to a lack of sleep but praise the Lord she hasn't been vomiting, although apparently she'd rather that and have it over and done with for a few hours.
I think the most amusing thing for me is her new super power: super sense of smell. Jenee is a food person, so I can't imagine what it's like for her to be repelled by something she loves to eat. But she can smell something a long time before I can and the cravings start. For example on the plane to Texas for thanksgiving, someone opened up a Subway sandwich and not only could she tell what type of sandwich it was, she knew it had iceberg lettuce and swiss cheese. LOL. See the picture for the sad "I know what your sandwich is and I can't have a bite of it" face. That's not the first time she has smelled iceberg lettuce from afar either.
As for cravings she has been pretty good. I have had to make 2 late night trips for her, one for Oreo cookies and another for ice cream cookie sandwiches. And lets face it, it wasn't much of a sacrifice to share in those goodies with her.
Well, now you know our surprise.
Well, some of you out there know we had been trying to start a family for a year now. We had tried all the advice we could find and still we were not pregnant. This was becoming quite disheartening but we had put this all in the Lord's hands so we knew that what ever was to happen was His plan for us. Jenee had started working out at Crossfit (a Marine style workout) and was getting in really awesome shape so perhaps we could start trying again in January as she didn't want to travel internationally as a preggy mommy. So we actually stopped trying. About 2 weeks later Jenee experienced a bazaar flare up from some earrings she has worn for many years. Then, she started complaining of a stitch in her side. A little wary, she decided to test if she was pregnant just in case, as she was on some medication the Dr had told her not to get pregnant on. Well, to her surprise there was the faintest of faint lines on the test. She brought the test to me to see if I saw what she was seeing and I agreed, there was a second line there, but it was very faint. So, to be safe she stopped her medication, and we decided to wait a few days and test again. Guess what, we tested again, and the second line was there, still faint, but more visible then before. Excited but used to disappointment we cautiously started to celebrate, but agreed to test one more time in another few days. And wouldn't you know it, that faint line was nice and pronounced! We're pregnant - woooohoooo!
Still after 3 tests we were in disbelief. So we did what we needed to and made a Dr's appointment. Randomly, we were assigned the nicest Dr we could have hoped for and about 2 weeks after we found out, we had our very first ultrasound which you can read about above.
Keeping the secret quiet
That's no mean feat. Bubbling with excitement, Jenee and I had to dodge the topic with our parents, family and friends when on the phone. We came so close to spilling the beans so many times, however since this is to be our first, we wanted to tell Jenee's parents in a special way and we had planned to tell my parents and sisters in Australia as a kind of Christmas surprise. Well, at least that was the plan. Needing to tell someone otherwise we may physically burst, we decided to tell my parents early (since they typically don't get to find out anything about us first).
We got them on Skype and I casually dropped the line that we were pregnant. It took a second for them to process what I had said, but once it did sink in, there were tears of joy and smiles that couldn't stop. What an adreniline rush, its so exciting to tell someone that you're expecting a baby.
A week passed and we decided that we had to tell someone else or once again we might spontaneously rupture so we decided that we'd tell Rob and Sarah because they are our closest friends (figuratively and literally), and if we needed them, they would be there for us. Then a few days later (apparently you should not trust us with exciting news...) we decided to tell my sisters. Helen was ecstatic, Heather apparently had figured it out when she heard both of us on the phone but was equally excited for us.
Telling Momma (J's Parents)
We decided that Linda needed to find out in a special way. I won't say much hear because there is a video that is far better to watch than reading my words...
And the Crazy food things start
Really, Jenee hasn't had as rough of a time as I was expecting. Not to say that it has been a pleasant walk in the park. She's nauseaus and has some pretty uncomfortable indigestion which leads to a lack of sleep but praise the Lord she hasn't been vomiting, although apparently she'd rather that and have it over and done with for a few hours.
I think the most amusing thing for me is her new super power: super sense of smell. Jenee is a food person, so I can't imagine what it's like for her to be repelled by something she loves to eat. But she can smell something a long time before I can and the cravings start. For example on the plane to Texas for thanksgiving, someone opened up a Subway sandwich and not only could she tell what type of sandwich it was, she knew it had iceberg lettuce and swiss cheese. LOL. See the picture for the sad "I know what your sandwich is and I can't have a bite of it" face. That's not the first time she has smelled iceberg lettuce from afar either.
As for cravings she has been pretty good. I have had to make 2 late night trips for her, one for Oreo cookies and another for ice cream cookie sandwiches. And lets face it, it wasn't much of a sacrifice to share in those goodies with her.
Well, now you know our surprise.
Living It Up Down Under
Well we've been here for 10 or so days and we are having a great time! The weather here is fantastic, most days are about 26-29C with little humidity so its perfect for going out and doing something.
We have had lots of time with Heather, Jonno and the boys who are so delicious. And we have spent plenty of time with Helen, Danny and their two munchkins. Sam is a bundle of energy and he doesnt have an off switch. From the moment he wakes up he's going, talking, jumping, running and bouncing everywhere. Rachel is completely gorgeous too. According to Jenee she doesnt have time for her, only eye's for her Uncle Nate. lol. Poor Rachy hasn't been feeling too crash hot either...
It's wonderful to spend so much time with Mum and Dad. We've barely had a moment to sit and rest, what with shopping, visiting, boating, fishing, Christmas deliveries, airport runs etc... We have plenty of storeys to tell too, so check back soon, there will be anecdotes of Nate's cuts scratches, bruises and burns, the shark Jenee caught on the boat, Canasta tournaments, Victor Harbor, beach fishing and more! Love to all of you!
Nate and Jenee
We have had lots of time with Heather, Jonno and the boys who are so delicious. And we have spent plenty of time with Helen, Danny and their two munchkins. Sam is a bundle of energy and he doesnt have an off switch. From the moment he wakes up he's going, talking, jumping, running and bouncing everywhere. Rachel is completely gorgeous too. According to Jenee she doesnt have time for her, only eye's for her Uncle Nate. lol. Poor Rachy hasn't been feeling too crash hot either...
It's wonderful to spend so much time with Mum and Dad. We've barely had a moment to sit and rest, what with shopping, visiting, boating, fishing, Christmas deliveries, airport runs etc... We have plenty of storeys to tell too, so check back soon, there will be anecdotes of Nate's cuts scratches, bruises and burns, the shark Jenee caught on the boat, Canasta tournaments, Victor Harbor, beach fishing and more! Love to all of you!
Nate and Jenee
Thursday, December 10, 2009
The Cutest Song Ever
Meredith is certainly a character. She sings and dances and is full of life. One of the wonderful things to watch is how quickly she learns new things, for example the theme song to "Elmo's World". Although M's version is a little different than the original. The original goes something like "Nah-nah-nah-nah-naa, Nah-nah-nah-nah-naa, Elmo's world" (feel free to sing along :-).
Well, apparently sometimes she just likes to sing Elmo's song about her favorite things and a few nights ago, when Meredith was put to bed, a little voice started to sing across the baby monitor in the lounge room:
Well, apparently sometimes she just likes to sing Elmo's song about her favorite things and a few nights ago, when Meredith was put to bed, a little voice started to sing across the baby monitor in the lounge room:
Fauxmas!
Since it's Christmas time and we wouldn't get to see our Gainesville friends, we decided to have a Christmas party early. Somehow I decided that we should call it "Fauxmas". We had a lovely time with Rob, Sarah, Meredith and Chris and Amber.Each of the couples contributed something to the dinner table and later that night we did a gift exchange. Us boys were terribly predictable and used each others Amazon wishlist to choose an item for less than $20. The girls were a little more creative and found a special something that involved thought to give.
Between dinner and the gift exchange we assembled the Hamersma Christmas tree and decorated it with a plethora of fantastic decorations. So much fun! Amazingly I forgot my camera, so all I have to show for it is a few low quality images from my iPhone. Looking at Meredith against the tree I can hardly believe how much she has grown in the last year. She was so little when Rob and Sarah got her and now through good food, lots of love and attention she is blossoming into a beautiful little girl. We finished the night off watching "The Holiday Inn" together, the perfect thing to watch to finish off a very nice evening.
Merry Fauxmas everyone!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
See You Next Week
Wow, I have been a tad slack on the ol' blogging. Well, we'll be in Australia in the next week and I will (hopefully) have time to write a few posts. Things are moving along as per the usual. We have finally finished the quilts for Heathers boys (with an enormous thanks to Betty for helping us with putting them together).
Thanksgiving in Texas was a wonderful time with the family and we learned how to play Canasta. Jenee and I make quite the team so watch out! We spent Thanksgiving with Jenee's family and the next day (Thanksgiving II) with the Tooleys and Uncle John. Needless to say we were stuffed and should have worn stretchy pants.
Anyhow, I will write more soon. There are lots of pics and video's to share. Ooo, videos...!
Thanksgiving in Texas was a wonderful time with the family and we learned how to play Canasta. Jenee and I make quite the team so watch out! We spent Thanksgiving with Jenee's family and the next day (Thanksgiving II) with the Tooleys and Uncle John. Needless to say we were stuffed and should have worn stretchy pants.
Anyhow, I will write more soon. There are lots of pics and video's to share. Ooo, videos...!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Doooown Goes the Stress Levels
For the last few weeks I more than Jenee have been stressed because this year I was due to submit my I-751 for USCIS. I say that like most of you know what it is, in short, it's a form that tells immigration that I am still (very happily) married to Jenee, we live together, have mutual accounts, assets etc, and therefore the immigration department can remove the 2 year conditions from my greencard!
Well, yesterday (Monday) we finally got the remaning documents together, sorted it in the correct order, scanned into an electronic format for back up purposes and sent to the correct address. Not with out some difficulty though. I can't believe how difficult it was to get a passport photo. The first place was so busy, the lady very honestly said she wouldn't be able to help me for an hour, the next place was using such a cheap and crappy camera that my picutre had a lovely magenta cast that couldn't be removed, the post office that advertised they did passport photo's was lying and finally the last place we tried were able to do it with no problems.
Jenee and I were so relieved (like I said, mostly me, Jenee wasn't stressed at all - stupid sanguine's and their "It's and adventure!" attitudes) that we decided to have an early dinner at 4:30 as a reward! Feels good to be done.
Well, yesterday (Monday) we finally got the remaning documents together, sorted it in the correct order, scanned into an electronic format for back up purposes and sent to the correct address. Not with out some difficulty though. I can't believe how difficult it was to get a passport photo. The first place was so busy, the lady very honestly said she wouldn't be able to help me for an hour, the next place was using such a cheap and crappy camera that my picutre had a lovely magenta cast that couldn't be removed, the post office that advertised they did passport photo's was lying and finally the last place we tried were able to do it with no problems.
Jenee and I were so relieved (like I said, mostly me, Jenee wasn't stressed at all - stupid sanguine's and their "It's and adventure!" attitudes) that we decided to have an early dinner at 4:30 as a reward! Feels good to be done.
Friday, October 30, 2009
What Have I Got Myself Into?
Oh my goodness. There is something called Crossfit and many of you know what it is because you do it, but for the benefit of those of you who don't, Crossfit is probably the most intensive fitness training I have ever experienced.
The concept is to keep your muscles in a state of confusion, the workout changes daily, and you work HARD. I used to bodybuild in my late teen's and early twenties and I know hard work, this is totally different and I have only done it once... Last time I ever listen to Jenee, I know I am going to be so sore tomorrow.
The concept is to keep your muscles in a state of confusion, the workout changes daily, and you work HARD. I used to bodybuild in my late teen's and early twenties and I know hard work, this is totally different and I have only done it once... Last time I ever listen to Jenee, I know I am going to be so sore tomorrow.
And This Is What I Bought With My Birthday Money
I bought myself a proper tripod! It's carbon fiber with magnesium crown, weighs next to nothing, is super rigid and can support about 3x more equipment than I own. I still need the 'head' which is on the way, it's on severe back-order at the moment... patience is a virtue. It doesn't look anything too special, but if you're in the know, you'll know what your looking at!
And after being made fun of, I feel I need to explain what the camoflage things are for. They serve a few purposes: 1) The break up the structure of the tripod if you are shooting wildlife, birds etc (which I occasionally do...), 2) the make it look cool n'stuff, and 3) the most important thing is they insulate your hands from extreme heat during the heat of the day, and extreme cold like in NM when its -10ºC. Call me a wuss if you want, I know you're jealous...
And after being made fun of, I feel I need to explain what the camoflage things are for. They serve a few purposes: 1) The break up the structure of the tripod if you are shooting wildlife, birds etc (which I occasionally do...), 2) the make it look cool n'stuff, and 3) the most important thing is they insulate your hands from extreme heat during the heat of the day, and extreme cold like in NM when its -10ºC. Call me a wuss if you want, I know you're jealous...
It Was My Birthday And Here Are The Pictures To Prove It
It was my birthday a few weeks ago and I forgot to post pictures so here they are. I had a great day. Of course I wanted to be boring (according to Sanguines anyway) but my wife found the perfect balance of fun for the day. She stole me away for lunch, my choice being the ever delicious Chipolte, and then about 2 hours late stole me away from work for a secret surprise, which was a massage! She took me to the day spa where she goes for her stuff so I almost felt uncomfortable, as it's mostly a ladies only facility, blokes don't really like getting their nails done, but I was made to feel very comfortable and in no time I was the lucky recipient of a very nice massage. It was so good I didn't feel like doing anything for a week, with out exaggeration.
In the evening, I chose to go to El Toro, a Mexican restaurant one town north of us. Rob and Sarah and Meredith came along too and it was a great evening. My dread is of course the public singing of "Happy Birthday, " so I didn't want to say anything to the restaurant staff, however it did come out from someone at the table, so later I was treated to a complimentary dessert (that we shared with everyone) but only after wearing a ridiculous sombrero and being sung to. Besides that, Jenee had bought 2 gourmet cupcakes and crammed them with 30 candles, so in the end I got my spectacle, hahahaha. All in all, it was a great day.
On the weekend we went to the beach to celebrate the cooler weather and found some new favorite places in our favorite beach! It was awesome. The best part was we had all the space we could want to fly our kites which was just so 'cleansing for the soul' to be out there with no phones, no people, no distractions.
In the evening, I chose to go to El Toro, a Mexican restaurant one town north of us. Rob and Sarah and Meredith came along too and it was a great evening. My dread is of course the public singing of "Happy Birthday, " so I didn't want to say anything to the restaurant staff, however it did come out from someone at the table, so later I was treated to a complimentary dessert (that we shared with everyone) but only after wearing a ridiculous sombrero and being sung to. Besides that, Jenee had bought 2 gourmet cupcakes and crammed them with 30 candles, so in the end I got my spectacle, hahahaha. All in all, it was a great day.
On the weekend we went to the beach to celebrate the cooler weather and found some new favorite places in our favorite beach! It was awesome. The best part was we had all the space we could want to fly our kites which was just so 'cleansing for the soul' to be out there with no phones, no people, no distractions.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
We'd Forgotten...
...what it feels like to be cold. I think the last time I felt cold was probably way back in April. Thanks to the change of the seasons, we've had 1 whole cool change. It was actually cold enough to wear a sweater/jumper, even if I still had shorts on.
All that's history now, it's hot and moderately humid again. So much for Autumn.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Meet Nick... Yes Nick....
Meet, Nick.. I mean Nate... Wait maybe it is Nick.... So we walk into Starbuck's aka "The Happiest Place in the Universe (Take that Disney)!!! Needless to say it has become quit a habit to visit there about once a day. Ok so maybe they know me by name/drink and the fact that they have to charge my card before they charge me for coffee because they know we have forgotten to do it and I want my discount. Well usually they ask your name and usually I let Nate tell them his because Jenee is just really confusing apparently... At least I thought Nate would be easier and I keep forgetting to use my Starbuck's name, Tonya (my cousin Majedah taught me about the Starbuck's name and you can see why,....). So Nate, in his best "say it clearly to these silly American's voice" pronounces his name, NaTTTe and we walk around the counter to the drink receiving area waiting patiently for our wonderful sips of pure happiness and joy, yes it does have more flavor than coffee just the way I like it, and just to check and see whose drink is whose, we happen to look at the cup. Low and behold, despite Nate's pronunciation, in big letters we see "Nick." Finding this a bit funny we laugh it off. Well the next day comes and the next trip for coffee and low and behold the EXACT same thing happens. Well being the scientists we/Nate is and i pretend to be, we decided a little reverse phycology is in order. The next day we walk in the to the buck's with our plan. We order our coffee and they ask for a name and Nate very clearly says, "NICK". We walk around the counter and wait, not thinking it possible, but we had to try it just to put our giggles (yes girly giggles) to rest, and you have got to be joking! Written clear as day on the side of our cups is N-A-T-E! Thinking this is just a fluke we try it again, at a DIFFERENT Starbuck's (yes it was the next day) just to prove that we are not crazy. We order, Nate clearly states his name as "Nick" and what happens, N-A-T-E!! We have yet to order a cup of coffee and them to write Nate when he says Nate or Nick when he says Nick. Not sure why that is. I think his Starbuck's name, since even 4 letter names are confusing, should be Tony. Tony and Tonya! Perfect. Course they will probably hear Peter and then we have to start all over again.....
Friday, October 9, 2009
Awesomeness!
Now not all of you reading this are into the whole Mac vs. PC arguement. Fewer still are probably aware of the Nikon vs. Canon war. This image came from NikonRumors.com. I laughed so hard I may have given startled Jenee a little. Meet the Nikon EOS-1...
Image credit belongs there.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Boy's Trip - San Diego, California
One more state down from 50. Last week I flew to California, where I met Joe and Cory for a boy's fishing trip that we organized with Linda's family. Linda and Joe met in San Diego and Linda's parents and siblings still live there. My first impression of San Diego was how the weather reminded me of Adelaide, when Adelaide isn't trying to kill you from heat waves. It was warm, sunny and dry.
We arranged to go on a 1/2 day charter leaving from the San Diego bay and all the boys from the family but one were able to make it. The attendance list was Joe, Cory, Bill (Grandpa), Stephen and David (Linda's Brothers), Donny and Elijah (Linda's Nephews) and of course me. The boat was very nice, the crew were helpful and best of all, the weather was fantastic as I mentioned above.
The captain took us to the famous kelp beds for our fishing after making a stop at the floating bait shop. The most amusing thing about the bait shop is that all of the bait is kept in underwater holds, and guarding this were a number (read hundreds) of seals, pelicans and cormorants (affectionately referred to as ducks), all waiting to help themselves to any spilled fish, or as one pelican demonstrated, just walk up to an open hold and help yourself.
The fishing was perhaps a little quieter than we had all hoped, but it was a lot of fun to all be out there together. Cory managed to catch 5 "ducks", Unlce David caught 4, and somewhere in there we each caught a couple of fish.
The entertainment was really about if you had caught a fish or a duck? Later in the day, the entertainment became can you get your baitfish to the bottom before the seal ate it. You read that correctly. At about 5pm, a fat seal joined us to be fed. I couldn't help but think how much I wished I had a spear gun or a stick of dynamite as I watched the seal playfully zig zag under the boat and bite the body off our fish, leaving the head at our lesure to exchange for a fresh fish. Stupid seal...
The rest of our trip was spend looking around San Diego, we saw a wild animal park where the animals must have been on vacation, plenty of spectacular countryside, downtown, the Aerospace Museum where I finally saw a real SR-71A. That was definitely a highlight for me, I have seen F-14's, 15's, 16's and 18's up close, but I had no idea how big the Blackbird really is, its engine looks as though is as long as an F-18! Stupid me didn't take any photo's of it either.
So the trip was fun, and while I was there, Jenee was in Texas living the life with her Mom and girlfriends so don't feel too sorry for her because she didn't come with me :-)
We arranged to go on a 1/2 day charter leaving from the San Diego bay and all the boys from the family but one were able to make it. The attendance list was Joe, Cory, Bill (Grandpa), Stephen and David (Linda's Brothers), Donny and Elijah (Linda's Nephews) and of course me. The boat was very nice, the crew were helpful and best of all, the weather was fantastic as I mentioned above.
The captain took us to the famous kelp beds for our fishing after making a stop at the floating bait shop. The most amusing thing about the bait shop is that all of the bait is kept in underwater holds, and guarding this were a number (read hundreds) of seals, pelicans and cormorants (affectionately referred to as ducks), all waiting to help themselves to any spilled fish, or as one pelican demonstrated, just walk up to an open hold and help yourself.
The fishing was perhaps a little quieter than we had all hoped, but it was a lot of fun to all be out there together. Cory managed to catch 5 "ducks", Unlce David caught 4, and somewhere in there we each caught a couple of fish.
The entertainment was really about if you had caught a fish or a duck? Later in the day, the entertainment became can you get your baitfish to the bottom before the seal ate it. You read that correctly. At about 5pm, a fat seal joined us to be fed. I couldn't help but think how much I wished I had a spear gun or a stick of dynamite as I watched the seal playfully zig zag under the boat and bite the body off our fish, leaving the head at our lesure to exchange for a fresh fish. Stupid seal...
The rest of our trip was spend looking around San Diego, we saw a wild animal park where the animals must have been on vacation, plenty of spectacular countryside, downtown, the Aerospace Museum where I finally saw a real SR-71A. That was definitely a highlight for me, I have seen F-14's, 15's, 16's and 18's up close, but I had no idea how big the Blackbird really is, its engine looks as though is as long as an F-18! Stupid me didn't take any photo's of it either.
So the trip was fun, and while I was there, Jenee was in Texas living the life with her Mom and girlfriends so don't feel too sorry for her because she didn't come with me :-)
Our Path to the Dark Side is Complete
Name the reference!
Well, a little dissatisfied with how much we were paying at Verizon for two mobile phones, we made the switch to AT&T and got iPhones. Apparently if Apple made a car, toilets or TV's, we'd probably buy that too, oh and b.t.w., the server mentioned below is an Apple Time Capsule. Jenee was very excited about having an iPhone, and in contrast, I was sitting on the fence. My thought train was, why do I need such a powerful phone? Why do I need apps? All I need is to make calls, and send the occasional text.
Well after the recent trip to San Diego, I have to say there is no doubt, the iPhone is cool, even though I'd like to think I could go back to having just a phone. Typically I take my laptop on trips, but with the iPhone I decided not to, and save some weight and space. It totally paid off, I could check my email anywhere I wanted, checked flight details, use it as a GPS to find a wild animal park in the sticks, find a good resturant on the go and then get the phone to guide me there on Google Maps, and all that was available in my pocket. Love it!
It may not be something everyone should have, but I have to admit, it's very nice to have email, internet access, iPod music and video, "GPS", maps, games and my contacts all in one place. I could write about this little thing for many more paragraphs, but that may be considered as overboard...
p.s. 10 points to you if you guessed Star Wars.
Well, a little dissatisfied with how much we were paying at Verizon for two mobile phones, we made the switch to AT&T and got iPhones. Apparently if Apple made a car, toilets or TV's, we'd probably buy that too, oh and b.t.w., the server mentioned below is an Apple Time Capsule. Jenee was very excited about having an iPhone, and in contrast, I was sitting on the fence. My thought train was, why do I need such a powerful phone? Why do I need apps? All I need is to make calls, and send the occasional text.
Well after the recent trip to San Diego, I have to say there is no doubt, the iPhone is cool, even though I'd like to think I could go back to having just a phone. Typically I take my laptop on trips, but with the iPhone I decided not to, and save some weight and space. It totally paid off, I could check my email anywhere I wanted, checked flight details, use it as a GPS to find a wild animal park in the sticks, find a good resturant on the go and then get the phone to guide me there on Google Maps, and all that was available in my pocket. Love it!
It may not be something everyone should have, but I have to admit, it's very nice to have email, internet access, iPod music and video, "GPS", maps, games and my contacts all in one place. I could write about this little thing for many more paragraphs, but that may be considered as overboard...
p.s. 10 points to you if you guessed Star Wars.
September the Busy Month With No Posts
So where in the world have all of September's posts been? I know, just one measly post is not enough to live on. To be honest, I don't really know. I have had the time, I guess I have not been thinking about it.Well, here is a post for October to get us started. Last month was project month. Jenee has been super busy working on the twins quilts and I am, or perhaps she is, proud to say, that she is in the final stages of putting the quilt together, and they should be done this weekend. I know we have said this before, but this time I mean it.
While Jenee has been quilting, I have been working on a few other projects. One is to refinish an armoire, which is nearly done at the time of writing, another was to make the shelves you see to the right, and the last was to pull my immigration stuff together.
I am slowly working at building a home network and the first integral part to this plan is that little white box on the shelves. It's essentially a wireless router with a built in hadr drive, i.e. a small server. The awesome part of this little device is now our computers will wirelessly back themselves up and we done ever have to worry about them crashing (yes I concede even Mac's can fail, though it's not happend to us...). Next step is to add some more networked storage i.e. larger server, so that we have true data redundancy and we'll also be able to stream data all over the house, like to a TV or computer. Pretty cool huh!
The important thing about the whole paragraph above is that I made the shelves from scraps I had lying around the place. There is a shelf for the TV (which weighs ~40 lbs or 20kg), the DVD player and the router, and I drilled 60 mm holes so that all the cables could be hidden from view. It's anchored to the wall with enough screws in studs to hold about 10x more than it needs to. Call it peace of mind.
Immigration documents are a pain, but I am glad to say I am nearly done, thanks to everyone who wrote us letters of support. We'll be submitting the package in the next few weeks.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Sell-a-palousa
That's what I am dubbing this week. In less than 5 days I have sold our 100 lb / 50 kg CRT TV and some spare parts that I had for a project. What amazed me was in both cases I recieved a response, or offer with in a few hours of posting the items for sale.
The best thing is that we now have so much more room in our office that we can fill it up with other junk. Jenee would like and embroidery machine, and I would like a hot-tub spa. Apparently my wish is a little far fetched, but I am working on Jenee.
Anyway, now that we have sold the TV, I realize that we only have flat-screen HDTV's, two to be precise. What a difference compared to what I grew up with, where 1 CRT TV framed in wood veneer per family was pretty much the normal, and if you had two you were pretty fancy. We are definitely very fortunate, even if all that we own really belongs to the Father. The challenge becomes, what can I do with what he has given me to further His kingdom?
The best thing is that we now have so much more room in our office that we can fill it up with other junk. Jenee would like and embroidery machine, and I would like a hot-tub spa. Apparently my wish is a little far fetched, but I am working on Jenee.
Anyway, now that we have sold the TV, I realize that we only have flat-screen HDTV's, two to be precise. What a difference compared to what I grew up with, where 1 CRT TV framed in wood veneer per family was pretty much the normal, and if you had two you were pretty fancy. We are definitely very fortunate, even if all that we own really belongs to the Father. The challenge becomes, what can I do with what he has given me to further His kingdom?
Monday, August 24, 2009
Blu-Ray For The Win!
You may or may not have heard all the rumblings about Blu-Ray and its awesomeness over the last few years but if you didn't know, it's the next generation of technology that is supposed to supersede DVD. As a sign of maturity, I decided not to be an early adopter simply because I didn't want to pay for the privelege, and I also didn't want to be a guinea pig, however, I think that the prices here for players, HDTV's and media have reached an affordable point, so as you may already know, I have been buying a few movies here and there (for the average price of $15.79, thank you very much) and will eventually get a player to play them on. [Jenee thinks I am funny buying movies I can't play but, well... she has a point, but who cares?]
Anywhodle, finally got to watch a movie at my mate Rob's house and WOW. I was stunned, the quality and sound was much better than I was expecting. I could see detail like never before and it felt so lifelike.
Needless to say, I can hardly wait to get a player and enjoy some movies at home. Poor Jenee, if it's not one gadget with me, it's another. I am so blessed to have a patient wife.
Anywhodle, finally got to watch a movie at my mate Rob's house and WOW. I was stunned, the quality and sound was much better than I was expecting. I could see detail like never before and it felt so lifelike.
Needless to say, I can hardly wait to get a player and enjoy some movies at home. Poor Jenee, if it's not one gadget with me, it's another. I am so blessed to have a patient wife.
My First Visit to NYC
So a few weeks ago, I got to visit the big apple for the first time, even if it was a 1 day ordeal. We flew to NYC to take part in a sponsors meeting and when I say we, I mean 10 post-doc's and research scientists. What was funny about the whole trip was the groop mentality, apparently we had to do everything together, almost as if there was some unsaid fear of separation.
Amsterdam and 79th St.
Anyway, my first impressions of New York City were made as we circled in to LaGuardia Airport and it quickly became evident how huge the city is. Once outside of the airport, and having dealt with the crazy taxi's, me second impressions were on how bad the roads were, how dirty everything seemed and how many people there were, I even convinced myself that I might get an asthma attack because of all this. I realised I was panicing in my own way, funnily enough, but I couldn't think what the reason was? Eventually I put it down to fear so I prayed, put it out of my mind and allowed the Lord to be in control.
St. John the Divine Cathedral in NYC
Anyway, apart from that, I soon started to warm up to the city, it's definately very cosmopolitan in the sense of how much variety there is in the people, the buildings, the resturants etc. I guess you get a very different sense of NYC when you are there compared to the movies. I did pay way too much for a tasteless, low carbon footprint hamburger, and I did ride the subway. That's a special experience. It's loud, extremely dirty, and a bit confusing. According to a Japanese friend, the Japanese subways are the polar opposite. Must go there one day.
Anyway, the trip was fun and fast, but I did manage to snap a few shots off. Hope you enjoy.
Amsterdam and 79th St.St. John the Divine Cathedral in NYCAnyway, apart from that, I soon started to warm up to the city, it's definately very cosmopolitan in the sense of how much variety there is in the people, the buildings, the resturants etc. I guess you get a very different sense of NYC when you are there compared to the movies. I did pay way too much for a tasteless, low carbon footprint hamburger, and I did ride the subway. That's a special experience. It's loud, extremely dirty, and a bit confusing. According to a Japanese friend, the Japanese subways are the polar opposite. Must go there one day.
Anyway, the trip was fun and fast, but I did manage to snap a few shots off. Hope you enjoy.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Special Marble
So I feel like since Nate is not going to have a computer for a few days, I would take up some blogging slack. What better post that one about our ridiculous cats.
Last night I wake up to the sound of a very sad meow. Still jumpy from the last distressed meow I heard from Sable when she was sick (keep in mind I know nothing about cats, and have never had indoor ones for sure!) I leap out of bed. I know you are asking yourself, "self, did she really leap?" Well the answer is YES! I flew out of bed tripping on the pillows that are thrown on the floor amongst clothes as well (we have been little sewing bunnies so the cleaning has fallen to the side, Yes mom, I clean my own house smarty pants!) and proceed to crawl down the stairs. Suddenly I see a white flash, well it really wasn't a flash but considering that Marble (I have no room to judge) has a few extra pounds on her it was as flashy as she is going to get, across the hallway into the living room. She looks up at me with her strangely small head and overly large eyes and you can see this sigh of relief. I proceed to carry the sweet obese cat upstairs and toss her on the foot of the bed where she of course wakes up Sable and force cuddles with her as my legs are sweating from the insane heat the two Yin and Yang cats put off. It is like a solar flare!
Here is my theory of what happened that night:
Our youngest cat may just be suffering from dimension and fell asleep in the sewing room. When she woke up at 2AM and looked around, no one was there and all was dark. Nothing looked familiar, because typically she is too scared to venture down the hallway much less into a new room and as I do, ( I relate allot with this cat) FREAKED HERSELF OUT! When I called her she was frozen, unsure if that was really her mom or someone impersonating her in order to lure her out of the bedroom where she would be given poisonous treats and offed. When she saw that it was in fact me, she was so relieved she ran with the intention of jumping into my arms, however half way there she realized, "there is no way I can get my feet off the ground," and proceeded to skid into the living room and wait to be picked up and carried to the bedroom where the rest of the family was unaware of her trial.
Like I said, I don't know much about cats, but that is all I can figure.
Last night I wake up to the sound of a very sad meow. Still jumpy from the last distressed meow I heard from Sable when she was sick (keep in mind I know nothing about cats, and have never had indoor ones for sure!) I leap out of bed. I know you are asking yourself, "self, did she really leap?" Well the answer is YES! I flew out of bed tripping on the pillows that are thrown on the floor amongst clothes as well (we have been little sewing bunnies so the cleaning has fallen to the side, Yes mom, I clean my own house smarty pants!) and proceed to crawl down the stairs. Suddenly I see a white flash, well it really wasn't a flash but considering that Marble (I have no room to judge) has a few extra pounds on her it was as flashy as she is going to get, across the hallway into the living room. She looks up at me with her strangely small head and overly large eyes and you can see this sigh of relief. I proceed to carry the sweet obese cat upstairs and toss her on the foot of the bed where she of course wakes up Sable and force cuddles with her as my legs are sweating from the insane heat the two Yin and Yang cats put off. It is like a solar flare!
Here is my theory of what happened that night:
Our youngest cat may just be suffering from dimension and fell asleep in the sewing room. When she woke up at 2AM and looked around, no one was there and all was dark. Nothing looked familiar, because typically she is too scared to venture down the hallway much less into a new room and as I do, ( I relate allot with this cat) FREAKED HERSELF OUT! When I called her she was frozen, unsure if that was really her mom or someone impersonating her in order to lure her out of the bedroom where she would be given poisonous treats and offed. When she saw that it was in fact me, she was so relieved she ran with the intention of jumping into my arms, however half way there she realized, "there is no way I can get my feet off the ground," and proceeded to skid into the living room and wait to be picked up and carried to the bedroom where the rest of the family was unaware of her trial.
Like I said, I don't know much about cats, but that is all I can figure.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Nate the Economist
I know I have a reputation for liking nice things, that's just who I am, but in the last few years, I have become more frugal and less spontaneous. I have discovered shops like Ross, where you can buy end of season clothes for 80% off and I have even learned to buy open box specials, but only if they actually a good deal.
Well, this morning I made a great find. On my way out of the apartment, I took the trash out and to my surprise someone had dumped a fairly expensive "Closetmaid" set of metal wire shelves. I put my bike down, and went in for the inspection. There was nothing wrong with them, except a little dirty. With an expression of glee, I picked them up and quickly walked back to the apartment, putting them inside so that no one could steal my new found treasure.
I don't know what I will use them for at the moment, but I have some ideas, Jenee and I are all about effective storage. The best thing was that when she got home, and saw them, she was just as excited about the find as I was. Ha ha ha...
Well, this morning I made a great find. On my way out of the apartment, I took the trash out and to my surprise someone had dumped a fairly expensive "Closetmaid" set of metal wire shelves. I put my bike down, and went in for the inspection. There was nothing wrong with them, except a little dirty. With an expression of glee, I picked them up and quickly walked back to the apartment, putting them inside so that no one could steal my new found treasure.
I don't know what I will use them for at the moment, but I have some ideas, Jenee and I are all about effective storage. The best thing was that when she got home, and saw them, she was just as excited about the find as I was. Ha ha ha...
Our First Date in a While
Saturday just gone was a beautiful day, the weather was just awesome, sunny, not too humid (i.e. you will still sweat, just not the moment you walk outside) and we started off the day by babysitting Rob and Sarah's little girl. Not ones to be idle, we decided that we'd have some fun and take Meredith with us while we ran errands. Meredith is like a magnet for attention because she is so stinking cute. For example while we were lining up to check out at Sam's, Meredith spotted the mascot sheep from Serta Matress Company. So, Jenee took her to hug the sheep, and dance with him, and get a protrait taken etc. While this was going on, I noticed that pretty much everyone within sight is looking at Meredith being cute and adorable. I am sure Mommy would approve :-)
After that, I decided that we were going on a date, so we dropped Meredith off to her mom, and headed for Alachua, the nearby town just north of us. Lunch was the first ticket, and we went to El Toro. SO GOOD. There aren't that many "real" Mexican places in Gainesville, let alone Florida. Moe's, Chipolte and On The Boarder don't count because they're too Americanized, not a bad thing, just not as authentic as some places.
Anyway, after eating our fill of delicous Mexican goodness, we drove down the street to a cute little quilting shop we had spotted when we were in Alachua for the 4th of July. Jenee's eye's lit up, my eye's lit up, and we spend a good 40 minutes in there. There was fabric, patterns, bits and pieces everywhere. Jenee even got a free lesson from the owner while we were there. Needless to say, I think we have found a new favorite thing to do on Saturday afternoons.
After that, I decided that we were going on a date, so we dropped Meredith off to her mom, and headed for Alachua, the nearby town just north of us. Lunch was the first ticket, and we went to El Toro. SO GOOD. There aren't that many "real" Mexican places in Gainesville, let alone Florida. Moe's, Chipolte and On The Boarder don't count because they're too Americanized, not a bad thing, just not as authentic as some places.
Anyway, after eating our fill of delicous Mexican goodness, we drove down the street to a cute little quilting shop we had spotted when we were in Alachua for the 4th of July. Jenee's eye's lit up, my eye's lit up, and we spend a good 40 minutes in there. There was fabric, patterns, bits and pieces everywhere. Jenee even got a free lesson from the owner while we were there. Needless to say, I think we have found a new favorite thing to do on Saturday afternoons.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
This is Florida
Last night I was at Rob and Sarah's playing with Rob's new home theater and it started raining. Nothing unusual, rains all the time. I waited the storm out and at about 9:30 announced my departure, got on my bike and proceeded to ride home. By the time I made it off their street, it started to rain lightly, by the time I made it to the main street joining their place and ours, it was POURING. I put the pedal to the metal and rode hard and fast, in the dark, but still, I got home completely saturated.
The funny part was the whole way home, all I could hear was "Ice cream and cake, do the ice cream and cake"etc...
Stupid rainy season...
The funny part was the whole way home, all I could hear was "Ice cream and cake, do the ice cream and cake"etc...
Stupid rainy season...
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Ice Cream and Cake
I know this is an annoying add, but every morning I see it while checking the weather channel, it makes me laugh... watch at your own risk, it will be in your head all day.
Ice cream and cake, do the ice cream and cake, ice cream and cake, do the ice cream and cake...
What A Weekend
For a few months now we have been planning on having Cortney and Meagan, Jenee's girlfriends, come and spend a weekend with us, and this last weekend was it. Jenee did all the planning be it for activities, meals, hotels, you name it. The first plan was after picking them up from the airport, we were going to drive down to Cocoa Beach and spend the following day enjoying the sun. And that's what we did, we picked them up on Wednesday night and made our way along 527 to Cocoa. About 20 minutes from the airport I looked down at my gauges and made an alarming discovery, we were sitting on reserve. Not wanting to alarm anyone I kept it to myself. Ordinarily this wouldn't be a problem, however, the stretch of road between Orlando International and Cocoa Beach is pretty much unpopulated until you get to the ocean, thus no fuel stations. With some praying and careful driving we made it to Cocoa and filled our 16 gallon tank with 16.5 gallons. We were running on vapors...
After a good night's sleep we hit the main strip at Cocoa and visited the famous Ron Jon's surf shop. After a bit of shopping we all agreed to hit the beach and it was awesome. Beautiful sand, gentle surf and hot sun. The surf was so much fun that we all agreed to go back and get a body board to ride the waves. I volunteered and with in a few minutes I had made the round trip and was walking down the beach with our new board. Excited, I tore the wrapping off and ran into the water with out much thought... until 10 minutes later I felt something in my pocket that I really wish I hadn't. It was the car keys. I took them out, showed Jenee and made the swim/walk of shame to the beach to try and fix what I had done. I rinsed them with fresh water and left them to dry. At the end of the day, we made our way back to the car to head home and guess what: the key would open the door but not the immobilizer. We tried everything we could, had Jenee's dad and uncle offering advice over the phone, tried jump starting and even push starting with no luck. By the end of all the drama which is too much to write here, we decided to stay the night again as the only way we were going to get the car started was to rent a car, drive the 200+ miles back to Gainesville, get the spare key, then drive back to Cocoa, get our car and drive back to Gainesville. Well that plan was foiled because between the Cruiseliners, the Shuttle landing happening and Disney, there wasn't an available rental car in a 100 mile radius.
Not knowing what to do, we went to dinner where we had an amazing BBQ chicken pizza and then walked back to the car to get our luggage and in our wisdom (or lack of) decided that the hotel wasn't that far and proceeded to walk the entire way towing our luggage. Turned out, we walked 2 miles in swealtering heat, in flip-flops when we could have caught the bus for $1.25. That night in the hotel, I prayed that God would take control of the situation and either provide a rental car or someone in Gainesville who could come and get us, or anything. I also had bought some isopropanol to clean the key with in the hope that it may help. I left the key completely disassembled overnight to dry. The following morning we got ourselves together and this time caught the bus back to where the car was. I tried the button, no sound. I told Jenee that I may as well try the ignition just in case and would you believe it, the car started. There was much celebration and high-5's in the carpark where a local fast food worker was watching with amazement at these wierd people.
We piled in the car, drove back to the hotel, left the car running, got our stuff and hit the road for Gainesville. God was so good to us, he was in control the whole time. He had orchestrated the fuel situation two nights before so that we'd have a full tank to make it home with negating the need to turn the car off and refuel, he left just enough charge in the car key battery to turn the immobilizer off (the battery had leaked its contents everywhere after going for a swim) and he provided a smooth ride home with little to no stops so I didn't run the risk of stalling the car. He is so good.
The rest of the vacation went well. We also went to St. Augustine for more surfing, and later Cedar Key. Now, I have to make a confession. I know better than to ride a body board with out a rash vest but did I do it anyway? yes... Did I ware skin off? yes... Did I do it at Cocoa and then at St. Augustine? yes... Am I sorry I did that? yes... lol
Apart from a little drama, we had a great time with Cort and Meg. Can't wait for them to come back.
After a good night's sleep we hit the main strip at Cocoa and visited the famous Ron Jon's surf shop. After a bit of shopping we all agreed to hit the beach and it was awesome. Beautiful sand, gentle surf and hot sun. The surf was so much fun that we all agreed to go back and get a body board to ride the waves. I volunteered and with in a few minutes I had made the round trip and was walking down the beach with our new board. Excited, I tore the wrapping off and ran into the water with out much thought... until 10 minutes later I felt something in my pocket that I really wish I hadn't. It was the car keys. I took them out, showed Jenee and made the swim/walk of shame to the beach to try and fix what I had done. I rinsed them with fresh water and left them to dry. At the end of the day, we made our way back to the car to head home and guess what: the key would open the door but not the immobilizer. We tried everything we could, had Jenee's dad and uncle offering advice over the phone, tried jump starting and even push starting with no luck. By the end of all the drama which is too much to write here, we decided to stay the night again as the only way we were going to get the car started was to rent a car, drive the 200+ miles back to Gainesville, get the spare key, then drive back to Cocoa, get our car and drive back to Gainesville. Well that plan was foiled because between the Cruiseliners, the Shuttle landing happening and Disney, there wasn't an available rental car in a 100 mile radius.
Not knowing what to do, we went to dinner where we had an amazing BBQ chicken pizza and then walked back to the car to get our luggage and in our wisdom (or lack of) decided that the hotel wasn't that far and proceeded to walk the entire way towing our luggage. Turned out, we walked 2 miles in swealtering heat, in flip-flops when we could have caught the bus for $1.25. That night in the hotel, I prayed that God would take control of the situation and either provide a rental car or someone in Gainesville who could come and get us, or anything. I also had bought some isopropanol to clean the key with in the hope that it may help. I left the key completely disassembled overnight to dry. The following morning we got ourselves together and this time caught the bus back to where the car was. I tried the button, no sound. I told Jenee that I may as well try the ignition just in case and would you believe it, the car started. There was much celebration and high-5's in the carpark where a local fast food worker was watching with amazement at these wierd people.
We piled in the car, drove back to the hotel, left the car running, got our stuff and hit the road for Gainesville. God was so good to us, he was in control the whole time. He had orchestrated the fuel situation two nights before so that we'd have a full tank to make it home with negating the need to turn the car off and refuel, he left just enough charge in the car key battery to turn the immobilizer off (the battery had leaked its contents everywhere after going for a swim) and he provided a smooth ride home with little to no stops so I didn't run the risk of stalling the car. He is so good.
The rest of the vacation went well. We also went to St. Augustine for more surfing, and later Cedar Key. Now, I have to make a confession. I know better than to ride a body board with out a rash vest but did I do it anyway? yes... Did I ware skin off? yes... Did I do it at Cocoa and then at St. Augustine? yes... Am I sorry I did that? yes... lol
Apart from a little drama, we had a great time with Cort and Meg. Can't wait for them to come back.
Monday, July 20, 2009
New Abode 2009
And, as promised, here are some shots of our new place of dwelling. Its a little messy because we have been spending so much time on the quilts so please excuse the mess. Hope you enjoy.
Teaser Shots of The Twin's Quilts
As promised, here are some teaser shots of the quilts Jenee is making for Oliver and Thomas. We worked on them for probably 16 hours over the weekend and we are finally making good progress. This is easily the most intricate, time consuming quilt we have done to date... enjoy.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Promises, Promises
So I have been promising to show pictures of our new place forever but my excuse has been we couldn't find Jenee's camera. Well I guess that excuse has expired so last night I started to take some with my [perfectly good] camera. I will post them asap.
On another note, Jenee and I have been working diligently on the quilts for Heather's boys. I have some teaser shots to show for that too.
On another note, Jenee and I have been working diligently on the quilts for Heather's boys. I have some teaser shots to show for that too.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Proud Mum and Dad
Heather sent me a pic of her and Jonno with the boys. Aww...
(Please don't re-post pics on FB)
(Please don't re-post pics on FB)
Monday, July 6, 2009
Happy Fourth of July Weekend
Ok so I am a little late with this, but happy 4th of July. Jenee and I were really looking forward to this weekend becasue [1] it was a long weekend and [2] that meant that we got to sleep in. Well sort of, I was woken by naughty pussy cats at 7am who decided that either they were bored, hungry or needed attention. I fed them and went back to sleep on the couch out of defiance. We spent Friday doing chores, and in actual fact, didn't really do anything until 11am. The one interesting thing that happened was that Jenee actually said that she wanted to watch Star Wars to see what all the fuss was about, so we started episode 4.
Saturday was the 4th, and we had made plans with friends of ours to go to Alachua to see the fireworks show there. Now Alachua is not a big town and was boasting to have the "Biggest Small Town Fireworks Show in America". I am pretty sure there was at least one other town boasting this, but to my supprise there was about 5-6000 people there, it was like a free county fair and the fireworks were pretty good. I have to admit, I have high standard from seeing shows like "Skyshow" in Adelaide and the best of them all, New Years in Sydney Harbour, but little Alachua did a very good job. The only dumb thing we did was go too early. The show was at 9:30, and we got there at 4. A long wait in the heat was inevitable, but worth it.
Probably not the most exciting news in the world, but important none the less, I also finally finished Super Mario Brothers 3, a game I started months ago. So now you can all rest easy, knowing I played it well. It's not that I have played it everyday since February, it more along the lines of life gets busy and I forgot about it too. Anyway, Sunday was a nice relaxing day for us. We spent the afternoon cleaning up the apartment for Bekah's visit this week, and working on Ollie and Tommy's quilts. I will post pics soon, along with the pics I have taken of the apartment. What's happened is one of us has put Jenee's camera in a safe place and neither of us can remember where it is. I will endevour to find it in the next few days.
On sunday evening, while quilting, we did discover something that we both really like. There is a show called Cake Boss that is based on a real 100 year old bakery owned by an Italian family in New Jersey. The owner Buddy is the brother and he has his mom, sisters, cousins and friends all working for him. Its a great show with lots of laughs, but uncannily, after watching reruns all night, Jenee and I found ourselves talking to each other like we were living our own reality TV show. Kinda scary, I think we need to go out side more...
Saturday was the 4th, and we had made plans with friends of ours to go to Alachua to see the fireworks show there. Now Alachua is not a big town and was boasting to have the "Biggest Small Town Fireworks Show in America". I am pretty sure there was at least one other town boasting this, but to my supprise there was about 5-6000 people there, it was like a free county fair and the fireworks were pretty good. I have to admit, I have high standard from seeing shows like "Skyshow" in Adelaide and the best of them all, New Years in Sydney Harbour, but little Alachua did a very good job. The only dumb thing we did was go too early. The show was at 9:30, and we got there at 4. A long wait in the heat was inevitable, but worth it.
Probably not the most exciting news in the world, but important none the less, I also finally finished Super Mario Brothers 3, a game I started months ago. So now you can all rest easy, knowing I played it well. It's not that I have played it everyday since February, it more along the lines of life gets busy and I forgot about it too. Anyway, Sunday was a nice relaxing day for us. We spent the afternoon cleaning up the apartment for Bekah's visit this week, and working on Ollie and Tommy's quilts. I will post pics soon, along with the pics I have taken of the apartment. What's happened is one of us has put Jenee's camera in a safe place and neither of us can remember where it is. I will endevour to find it in the next few days.
On sunday evening, while quilting, we did discover something that we both really like. There is a show called Cake Boss that is based on a real 100 year old bakery owned by an Italian family in New Jersey. The owner Buddy is the brother and he has his mom, sisters, cousins and friends all working for him. Its a great show with lots of laughs, but uncannily, after watching reruns all night, Jenee and I found ourselves talking to each other like we were living our own reality TV show. Kinda scary, I think we need to go out side more...
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Hilarious
At sometime in your life, when you were a young boy, you probably pretended to be a commando, or a ninja or Chuck Norris. These guys still seem to think they have the skills...
Monday, June 29, 2009
Proud Uncle and Aunty :-)
We have two new nephews. Oliver (Green hat) and Thomas (Blue). Can't wait for Christmas!!! Congratulations Heather and Jon.
Ollie
Proud Nanna and Grandpa
Ollie
Tommy
Monday, June 15, 2009
Mason, Texas!
Well, a weekend or so ago, Jenee and I were in Mason, Texas so that we could help out for Emily and Chris' wedding. Emily is the daughter of Jan, who along with Betty W. put in a tremendous amount of work into our wedding. Linda and Jenee volunteered to help out with the food and catering side of things, and I offered to do the photo's.
Mason is a little town in the middle of nowhere. It's population is about 2500 people and the town it's self is pretty much dead center when you look at the map. It was a nice little town and I really wish I had some time to look around and take some shots while I was there, but that will have to wait until next visit.
We arrived a few days early and spent thursday and friday getting the food, reception hall and church ready for the big day. Of course no wedding runs with out some hiccup and sure enough friday night a huge storm rolled in from the east bringing with it large baseball / criketball sized hail, lighning and a tornado! When the storm arrived we where at a beautiful homestead where the reception dinner was being held. Farmers from the surrounding area were calling in letting everyone know what was happening and when we started getting reports of large hail, we moved our cars into a large shed, then settled in at the homestead with our hosts Tyra and Roger, and most of the Mansfield Bible crew who had come (Betty, Tamara, Courtney, Megan, Bekah, Linda, Jenee and myself). We lost power one the storm arrived and sat for about an hour in candle light.
Once the all clear was given, we started getting calls again about the damage. Jan's house had been pummeled with hail, some cars had been beaten up and lost windows, 3 computers had been left in cars and were now ruined (they belonged to the bride and groom containing the music and slide show for the wedding!!) and we had no idea what had happened to the church. Once we got to the church, we were greeted by golden light streaming through the broken and battered shutters which were protecting the historic (priceless) stainglass windows. Once inside we realised that the damage could have been much worse, and only 5-6 panes had suffered damage. The hail must have been pretty hard becasue we found shards of glass on the other side of the church, not to mention on the outside, the siding board had several large holes in it. As Courtney put it, the building looked like someone opened fire on it with a .45. It took about an hour to clean up (midnight by now) but at least the church was ready. When we got back to Jan and Max's home, the story continued. Broken glass on the house, cars were windowless and divited, and judging by some of the broken lights under the veranda, the hail was coming in almost horizontally.
Through the whole thing, Chris and Emily remained pretty calm, and God had already planned a back up for the one thing that they needed (the computer) because Jenee had brought her Mac! The following day, we woke up somewhat tired but in good spirits. God gave us a beautiful day to have a wedding and the ceremony and celebration was fantastic. One thing we did notice however was that between Jan and Max's house and the church, there were a line of trees that were broken and twisted. Little did we know the previous night, but a small tornado had passed right between the church and the house. How awesome is God for protecting us from that!
Mason is a little town in the middle of nowhere. It's population is about 2500 people and the town it's self is pretty much dead center when you look at the map. It was a nice little town and I really wish I had some time to look around and take some shots while I was there, but that will have to wait until next visit.
We arrived a few days early and spent thursday and friday getting the food, reception hall and church ready for the big day. Of course no wedding runs with out some hiccup and sure enough friday night a huge storm rolled in from the east bringing with it large baseball / criketball sized hail, lighning and a tornado! When the storm arrived we where at a beautiful homestead where the reception dinner was being held. Farmers from the surrounding area were calling in letting everyone know what was happening and when we started getting reports of large hail, we moved our cars into a large shed, then settled in at the homestead with our hosts Tyra and Roger, and most of the Mansfield Bible crew who had come (Betty, Tamara, Courtney, Megan, Bekah, Linda, Jenee and myself). We lost power one the storm arrived and sat for about an hour in candle light.
Once the all clear was given, we started getting calls again about the damage. Jan's house had been pummeled with hail, some cars had been beaten up and lost windows, 3 computers had been left in cars and were now ruined (they belonged to the bride and groom containing the music and slide show for the wedding!!) and we had no idea what had happened to the church. Once we got to the church, we were greeted by golden light streaming through the broken and battered shutters which were protecting the historic (priceless) stainglass windows. Once inside we realised that the damage could have been much worse, and only 5-6 panes had suffered damage. The hail must have been pretty hard becasue we found shards of glass on the other side of the church, not to mention on the outside, the siding board had several large holes in it. As Courtney put it, the building looked like someone opened fire on it with a .45. It took about an hour to clean up (midnight by now) but at least the church was ready. When we got back to Jan and Max's home, the story continued. Broken glass on the house, cars were windowless and divited, and judging by some of the broken lights under the veranda, the hail was coming in almost horizontally.
Through the whole thing, Chris and Emily remained pretty calm, and God had already planned a back up for the one thing that they needed (the computer) because Jenee had brought her Mac! The following day, we woke up somewhat tired but in good spirits. God gave us a beautiful day to have a wedding and the ceremony and celebration was fantastic. One thing we did notice however was that between Jan and Max's house and the church, there were a line of trees that were broken and twisted. Little did we know the previous night, but a small tornado had passed right between the church and the house. How awesome is God for protecting us from that!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Waffle Fries
Waffle fries are the best. If I were to find myself in the position of having to choose, I would almost always choose the waffley goodness, and there are no waffle fries like those from Chick-fil-a. So awesome. And when all the fries are gone, you are left satisfied, but sad that they're no more.
Well today was a little different. I had a special treat for lunch (aforementioned Chick-fil-a) and right as the server swiped my card their system crashed and as a result, I got my lunch for free! It was like something that happens in the movies. I told the guy to expect me back there the same time tomorrow just in case... lol
Well today was a little different. I had a special treat for lunch (aforementioned Chick-fil-a) and right as the server swiped my card their system crashed and as a result, I got my lunch for free! It was like something that happens in the movies. I told the guy to expect me back there the same time tomorrow just in case... lol
Thursday, May 28, 2009
We Have Moved Again
Well, we've been back in G'ville for a few weeks now and a-plenty has a-happened. To get the ball rolling, we have moved apartment, again, shocker. We now have a nice town home. But before I get to that, I have to share a fun story. The day we arrived back from North Carolina, Jenee and I started packing up our old place (i.e. Sunday) so we could move on monday. Well, on Tuesday I had an endoscopy appointment that required me to take certain prepratory measures on Monday if you catch my drift. Therefore, you may be starting to see a conflict of interest here. I can say that loading the moving van on Morning was ok. I was able to pack our moving van whilst maintaining a safe distance to a bathroom. The afternoon however was a little more interesting because I had to drive said moving van across town with nowhere to stop, and two mad cats in the cab with me, and then when I got to the new place, start drinking something that tasted like lemon flavored soap water. All I can say is, I am glad that our new place has 3 bathrooms...
We ended up filling a 24 foot van twice with all our stuff, but we got 97% of it moved on Monday. Tuesday was D-Day, and we got up early to get to my appointment. I must say that the staff were very professional however the nurse who put my IV in gave me on huge bruise on the top of my hand. It wasn't her fault, I was apparently so dehydrated and tense about the how procedure that I "clamped down" and was almost impossible to get hooked up. It all ended up ok, and my proceedure went well.
Jenee was banking on my being exhausted and sleeping all day while she unpacked our boxes. It turned out that I was not so tired and I ended up unpacking with her. It took us two weeks, but we have finally unpacked our last boxes. I will take some photo's and put them here so that you can see our new place. We are so thrilled because we actually have room to move and space to call our own. It's great.
We have made a trip to IKEA too. We have bought a desk for Jenee and a stand for our TV so now we can actually use our coffee table for it's intended purpose, putting your feet up. The cats have also calmed down from the move, change isn't their strong suit. Sable has discovered the joys of stairs all over again and gleefully camps out and springs on anyone and any cat that dares to climb them. Marble has decided that she's not sure about all this newness and is happy to hide, although to her defense we have been experincing some terriffic storms these last two weeks.
Of course the highlight of our new place is, well it could be the 3 bathrooms (no more calling "shotgun" in the car), it could be having our own "offices" or it could be the fact we have our own washer and dryer! Yay for washer's and dryer's!
Well, check back soon, I have a tonne of photo's to post, and some apartment shots too. It will take a week or so...
Nate
We ended up filling a 24 foot van twice with all our stuff, but we got 97% of it moved on Monday. Tuesday was D-Day, and we got up early to get to my appointment. I must say that the staff were very professional however the nurse who put my IV in gave me on huge bruise on the top of my hand. It wasn't her fault, I was apparently so dehydrated and tense about the how procedure that I "clamped down" and was almost impossible to get hooked up. It all ended up ok, and my proceedure went well.
Jenee was banking on my being exhausted and sleeping all day while she unpacked our boxes. It turned out that I was not so tired and I ended up unpacking with her. It took us two weeks, but we have finally unpacked our last boxes. I will take some photo's and put them here so that you can see our new place. We are so thrilled because we actually have room to move and space to call our own. It's great.
We have made a trip to IKEA too. We have bought a desk for Jenee and a stand for our TV so now we can actually use our coffee table for it's intended purpose, putting your feet up. The cats have also calmed down from the move, change isn't their strong suit. Sable has discovered the joys of stairs all over again and gleefully camps out and springs on anyone and any cat that dares to climb them. Marble has decided that she's not sure about all this newness and is happy to hide, although to her defense we have been experincing some terriffic storms these last two weeks.
Of course the highlight of our new place is, well it could be the 3 bathrooms (no more calling "shotgun" in the car), it could be having our own "offices" or it could be the fact we have our own washer and dryer! Yay for washer's and dryer's!
Well, check back soon, I have a tonne of photo's to post, and some apartment shots too. It will take a week or so...
Nate
What? No Posting? What's Going On?
So much has happened in the last few weeks and it's been part of the reason that I haven't posted here. So, for all of you who have been asking, here it a mega post to catch you up.
(As I write, there is a really impressively angry storm rolling over Gainesville - lots of loud thunder and rain)
Bachelorhood Revisited
Back on the 26th of April Jenee and her mom set off to look after Jenee's grandmother in California. Grandma was diagnosed with breast cancer and the girls went to help run the house while grandma had surgery and recovered. Grandma is the guardian of a ten year old and a ten month old. Jenee's job was to look after the boys and from what I hear she did an awesome job but she was really tired by the time she came home. Of course, if Jenee was a way, then I got to be a bachelor. Honestly, I was happy as can be for about 3 days and then I started to miss Jen really bad. By the end of the two weeks that she was gone, I was just about bursting at the seams to see her. I drove down to Orlando International to pick her up at 1am in the morning and we decided to stay the night down there. My thanks go to Heather and Helen who talked to me on the phone while I drove - you're the best sisters ever. Grandma recovered well from the surgery, and we later found out that for one reason or another, she doesn't need to have any chemo or radiology. Praise God!
I Love Italians
Once back in Gainesville, Jenee and I had about 2 days together before I had to drive back to Orlando (about 125 mi / 200 km) to catch my plane to Albany, New York. I had a wedding to go to. Jenee couldn't come because she was given the run about by her boss and had to prepare for a conference in South Carolina. Anyway, I made it to the airport just fine only to be greeted by a huge line at the check in desk, and then a massive line through security. To my delight, the line moved fairly quickly as apparently Southwest airlines have put some thought into their proceedures and think about their customers, un like say, American Airlines...
Anyway, Southwest was a great airline to fly on, and I arrived in Albany safe and sound to be met by Stephen (groom) and his Dad. The think I like about Italians is they make you feel like you are a part of the family and that I was. I was hugged, fed and entertained the whole time I was there. Stephen and Anna were married in a beautiful Catholic Church in Schenectady, NY and I have to admit, while I was in the church, I was amazed at how beautiful it all was. The rehearsal dinner went really well and I met some great people. The food at the rehearsal was excellent. Now, I am not really a food person, that's Jenee, so when you read this next comment hopefully you will get a feel for what it was that I experienced. The food at the wedding dinner was mind blowing. For the first time I felt an emotional response to what was going in my mouth like I had never experienced before. The steak was so thick, so flavorful and juicy that I wanted to eat nothing but steak for a week. The roasted potatoes made my eyes light up and the rest of the vegetables were so delicious, had I not tried the meat I could have eaten just that. So, the food was really really delicious! But really the day was not about food, but about Stephen and Anna and their perfect day was just that. Perfect.
Tea for Two
Well, I flew home from NY early Sunday morning shortly after receiving a civil war lecture from my taxi driver and Jenee met me in Jacksonville. Being home was short lived as 36 hours later Jenee and I piled into a rental car to head for Charleston, South Carolina for the annual SEAGEP conference. Charleston is a great place to visit, rich with history and a wonderful place to explore.
We had plenty of time to go and explore and look around the town. There is an open mall called Market Street, some upscale shopping for the super rich (good for window shopping as you walk by and 'admire' the silly people who spend too much money), a pretty good aquarium, a colorful university campus, an aircraft carrier (the Yorketown), and we even visited the oldest Plantation that's still running, Boone Plantation. There is way to much to write about here, but I will post some pictures to share with you when I get around to them (we're still unpacking, see below).
Since we were so close, after the conference we drove up to Charlotte, North Carolina to visit Brandon and Krista and their baby Emma. It was really great to see them, as we hadn't seen them for about 6 months. The Wilson's showed us around their new home and we really enjoyed just relaxing with them. I think on Saturday afternoon when they were taking naps, Jenee and I decided we would try and take their dog for a walk. It didn't happen. Holly, their Australian Sheppard (is that right Krista?) is a complete banana. We had to sit on her to put the leash on, and then once on, the dog proceeded to bounce up and down, twirling around and jumping off on angles all at the same time. Idiot dog, lol. So we decided to try some basic obedience lessons and she remember some of the things Brandon had taught her but she's just too hyperactive, so that walk never eventuated. One thing I do have to say about North Carolina is they make the best sweet tea I have ever had.
In our next installment, I will let you know about our new apartment, and some funny stories about drinking laxatives and nurses who couldn't put IV's in...
(As I write, there is a really impressively angry storm rolling over Gainesville - lots of loud thunder and rain)
Bachelorhood Revisited
Back on the 26th of April Jenee and her mom set off to look after Jenee's grandmother in California. Grandma was diagnosed with breast cancer and the girls went to help run the house while grandma had surgery and recovered. Grandma is the guardian of a ten year old and a ten month old. Jenee's job was to look after the boys and from what I hear she did an awesome job but she was really tired by the time she came home. Of course, if Jenee was a way, then I got to be a bachelor. Honestly, I was happy as can be for about 3 days and then I started to miss Jen really bad. By the end of the two weeks that she was gone, I was just about bursting at the seams to see her. I drove down to Orlando International to pick her up at 1am in the morning and we decided to stay the night down there. My thanks go to Heather and Helen who talked to me on the phone while I drove - you're the best sisters ever. Grandma recovered well from the surgery, and we later found out that for one reason or another, she doesn't need to have any chemo or radiology. Praise God!
I Love Italians
Once back in Gainesville, Jenee and I had about 2 days together before I had to drive back to Orlando (about 125 mi / 200 km) to catch my plane to Albany, New York. I had a wedding to go to. Jenee couldn't come because she was given the run about by her boss and had to prepare for a conference in South Carolina. Anyway, I made it to the airport just fine only to be greeted by a huge line at the check in desk, and then a massive line through security. To my delight, the line moved fairly quickly as apparently Southwest airlines have put some thought into their proceedures and think about their customers, un like say, American Airlines...
Anyway, Southwest was a great airline to fly on, and I arrived in Albany safe and sound to be met by Stephen (groom) and his Dad. The think I like about Italians is they make you feel like you are a part of the family and that I was. I was hugged, fed and entertained the whole time I was there. Stephen and Anna were married in a beautiful Catholic Church in Schenectady, NY and I have to admit, while I was in the church, I was amazed at how beautiful it all was. The rehearsal dinner went really well and I met some great people. The food at the rehearsal was excellent. Now, I am not really a food person, that's Jenee, so when you read this next comment hopefully you will get a feel for what it was that I experienced. The food at the wedding dinner was mind blowing. For the first time I felt an emotional response to what was going in my mouth like I had never experienced before. The steak was so thick, so flavorful and juicy that I wanted to eat nothing but steak for a week. The roasted potatoes made my eyes light up and the rest of the vegetables were so delicious, had I not tried the meat I could have eaten just that. So, the food was really really delicious! But really the day was not about food, but about Stephen and Anna and their perfect day was just that. Perfect.
Tea for Two
Well, I flew home from NY early Sunday morning shortly after receiving a civil war lecture from my taxi driver and Jenee met me in Jacksonville. Being home was short lived as 36 hours later Jenee and I piled into a rental car to head for Charleston, South Carolina for the annual SEAGEP conference. Charleston is a great place to visit, rich with history and a wonderful place to explore.
We had plenty of time to go and explore and look around the town. There is an open mall called Market Street, some upscale shopping for the super rich (good for window shopping as you walk by and 'admire' the silly people who spend too much money), a pretty good aquarium, a colorful university campus, an aircraft carrier (the Yorketown), and we even visited the oldest Plantation that's still running, Boone Plantation. There is way to much to write about here, but I will post some pictures to share with you when I get around to them (we're still unpacking, see below).
Since we were so close, after the conference we drove up to Charlotte, North Carolina to visit Brandon and Krista and their baby Emma. It was really great to see them, as we hadn't seen them for about 6 months. The Wilson's showed us around their new home and we really enjoyed just relaxing with them. I think on Saturday afternoon when they were taking naps, Jenee and I decided we would try and take their dog for a walk. It didn't happen. Holly, their Australian Sheppard (is that right Krista?) is a complete banana. We had to sit on her to put the leash on, and then once on, the dog proceeded to bounce up and down, twirling around and jumping off on angles all at the same time. Idiot dog, lol. So we decided to try some basic obedience lessons and she remember some of the things Brandon had taught her but she's just too hyperactive, so that walk never eventuated. One thing I do have to say about North Carolina is they make the best sweet tea I have ever had.
In our next installment, I will let you know about our new apartment, and some funny stories about drinking laxatives and nurses who couldn't put IV's in...
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Shh! Be Very Very Quiet!
I don't know how many years it has been since I have seen this but it's a classic. It was made in 1957. Helen, Heather, Mum and Dad - get ready to sing a long!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
You Know Your Husband is a Nerd When:
- He's excited that he learned a new formula in Excel
- He used his spare time to make a spread sheet just to use said new formula [f.y.i. "=sumproduct()"]
- He goes to 3 different websites to get price comparisons for 50+ components for his next DIY project (and puts them in Excel and uses "sumproduct")
- He has created a folder on his computer for DIY projects and written word documents detailing how to do them
- His idea of fun is to learn how to solder a circuit board
- He wants to make a head phone amplifier for headphones that he doesn't have
- He has itinerized all of you possessions in Delicious Library for insurance purposes (and enjoyed doing it)
- He has been singing a theme song to a Japanese cartoon in his head for 3 days and it hasn't bothered him yet (from Macross Frontier - "Triangler", and I cant speak a work of Japanese, lol)
- He has organized and renamed all of his photos into more then 260 folders covering the last 7 years
- He's watched Heroes Season 1&2 twice in less than a year
- He has scanned all of his photography magazines into text searchable PDF files, and is about to do the same for his wife's magazines
- He had a small celebration on the inside when he learned the forth coming adaptation of 'The Hobbit' will be spread over two movies, not one
- More to come...
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Well Now I Have Something
Apparently I can not be trusted in the kitchen. Last night while making sweet potato chips, I took a huge slice out of my thumb. Despite telling myself to be careful, and Jenee also telling me the same.
Ours was just like this one, minus the protective guard for your hand. (Apologies for the HSN link, it was the only one I could find)
It was kind of awesome, you could see the chunk of flesh left on the cutting blade. Jenee came to the rescue with peroxide and a band aid. I spent the rest of the night with my hand above my heart to stop it throbbing, and had to do everything left handed, which was interesting to say the least. I am not very ambidextrous.
Ours was just like this one, minus the protective guard for your hand. (Apologies for the HSN link, it was the only one I could find)
It was kind of awesome, you could see the chunk of flesh left on the cutting blade. Jenee came to the rescue with peroxide and a band aid. I spent the rest of the night with my hand above my heart to stop it throbbing, and had to do everything left handed, which was interesting to say the least. I am not very ambidextrous.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
I Haven't Felt Like Posting...
Don't know why.
Well, at least not for a while. Sorry about that, but here is an update of what's happening in our world at the moment. First off, lets get the bad news out of the way. Earlier this month, the leadership of my BSF group announced that due to several circumstances, our Monday night mens class was not going to continue next year. Bummer. I am really sad, and so are all the men, but I have to believe that God is in control and He has something else for us lined up.
The last few weekends have flown by, I can't really remember what's happened. I do know that I have been working a lot, and I have also been working on some home projects that I wanted to get done this year. Firstly, as we don't have much room to store stuff, I have been scanning all my photography magazines to PDF files over the last 8 months and I am relieved to say i am finally finished. I have also been working on going through all my photos (again) and picking out what I feel are my "Best Of". It's an arduous task but it's also nearly done. And I have also been writing up small a series of documents for DIY projects that I want to do. I have about half a dozen or so things I would like to do like build a little amplifier, or learn how to silver solder etc. So I have been collecting information and making these little projects and I have committed to doing at least one of them over the summer.
What else? Well we have signed a new lease for an apartment. Jenee and I decided that we weren't getting a very good deal where we are at, and Sarah H actually found us a good deal on an apartment near them. We are moving in 8 weeks! We are really excited as there is tons more space, a washer and dryer (! x 15), and we will have enough space to actually have our own 'space'. Of corse this means we may have to buy some new furniture, so that means I may get to to some fixing-up of some old wood furniture if we can find what we are looking for, which means I may get to buy a sander for my tool collection - what a shame :-)
And today we got a reminder that Football Season is coming. On our way back from Bath Junkie (make your own toiletries) with my nose full of annoying smells, we got stuck in football traffic. The resounding thought was that we're so happy to be moving away from the Butler Plaza area because of the traffic.
Well, Jen's started cooking and I told her I would help so I will sign off here. Hope all is well, send us an email to let us know how your doing.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Which Bathroom Guy Are You?
I snapped this photo inside the new Jacksonville Terminal C. What you are looking at is the figures of all the different types and shapes of men. What I saw, was all the possible postures and expressions of men who need to go to the loo. It made me laugh, which one are you?The women's bathroom entrance had similar ones, however I felt that I didn't need to become familiar with security so I resisted taking that photo...
Friday, March 27, 2009
Stuck in Transit
Jenee and I are stuck. We are 1.5 hours from home, its dark, raining and according to CNN, there is some mighty crazy weather between us and our destination. To add to the drama, DFW, a hugh, multi runway airport is crippled to only one runway, hence we are here in Jacksonville having to wait for a phone call from "Flight Orientation Supervision Specialty Mullet Brain Control" in TX to give us a departure time.
Not to fear, we have already had a dose of adventure. On the way driving here, we were hit by torrential rain. Not quite the heaviest I have seen, but impressive. Then there was the adventure at the gas / petrol station where the sensor didn't click off and I got about 1 quart / liter spilled on my jeans. I had to change in the airport because I stank so badly and people were looking at me. Haha, no skin off my nose.
And the announcement guy just said that the flight to Texas is going to be really bumpy so we had better use the loo's here in the terminal cause the seatbelt sign isnt going off, so, I am signing off here. I have a funny picture to show, so I will post it when we touch town in Texas.
Off To Texas!
Jenee and I are off to Texas today for a week. Lucky us! Apparently, as usual, we have quite a few appointments already made to go visit, or go do something but thats the whole point of going. And of course, we both have to take work with us too.
Jenee has about 205 surveys given to school kids to enter, I have results and a paper to go over and write up, and I am also working on our computerized recipe library, our financial software, BSF and catching up on FPU.
But thats not even the exciting news. Way back on January 30th, I posted that I was trying to beat Super Mario Bros. 3. Well last night, after a couple of months of intermittent playing, I got to the very last castle!!! I am nearly there!!! But finishing it will have to wait for a week or so until we get back.
Anyway, time to get on the bus and go to work!
Cya
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Quilting Time
So Nate has been asking me for weeks to post something on the blog. I have been avoiding it because he is so much better at describing things than I am but here I go. Here are some quilts I have done in the last year. I don't have pictures of all of them but these are some really fun ones. I am really enjoying quilting. It is something I can do semi-mindlessly as I am juggling so many other things right now. Nate helps me SO much. He is the official cutter because he is so exact and patient. We are so different in that way, but it has been really cool to work together on it. Now I just need to learn how to take cool photos and we will share one more thing in our lives. Poor guy, he never realized by getting married, we would definitely not be far apart again :). I love it, hopefully he does too. We have sanity afternoons where we can do things separately. But back to the quilts, hope they are semi interesting. Not exactly a professional but maybe one day I will get there.
Oh and by the way, my birthday was AMAZING! Had so much fun. Nate took wonderful care of me and my family and friends were awesome. I will post some pictures of some of things later. Hopefully a bit quicker than this post :)
I made this quilt for Meredith Hamersma. She is our friends, Rob and Sarah's little girl. She is way to cute! I learned a lesson with this one though. Make sure the fabric is washer safe! It is touch and go whether they can wash it or not. I am such a trial and error learner. The back of the quilt is really soft flannel material. Fire safe according to Nate :) he will have to explain that himself.
This is the quilt top I made in a day, with Nate cutting of course. It is for our friends Soha and Chris who live in CO. They are having a little girl in May, her name is Sophia Rose. I am pretty much done with it, but have the binding to finish, then I will have a complete picture.
This one is really cool. It is one for my Aunt Paula. She bought this great material and asked me to make her a breast cancer quilt. It was A LOT of work, but I think it turned out pretty cool. When I wash it it will be fuzzy in places. I am waiting to do it at my mom's house because our washers are not very safe. Ask my poor clothes (cant wait to have my own washer!).
Oh and by the way, my birthday was AMAZING! Had so much fun. Nate took wonderful care of me and my family and friends were awesome. I will post some pictures of some of things later. Hopefully a bit quicker than this post :)
I made this quilt for Meredith Hamersma. She is our friends, Rob and Sarah's little girl. She is way to cute! I learned a lesson with this one though. Make sure the fabric is washer safe! It is touch and go whether they can wash it or not. I am such a trial and error learner. The back of the quilt is really soft flannel material. Fire safe according to Nate :) he will have to explain that himself.
This is the quilt top I made in a day, with Nate cutting of course. It is for our friends Soha and Chris who live in CO. They are having a little girl in May, her name is Sophia Rose. I am pretty much done with it, but have the binding to finish, then I will have a complete picture.
This one is really cool. It is one for my Aunt Paula. She bought this great material and asked me to make her a breast cancer quilt. It was A LOT of work, but I think it turned out pretty cool. When I wash it it will be fuzzy in places. I am waiting to do it at my mom's house because our washers are not very safe. Ask my poor clothes (cant wait to have my own washer!).
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Birthday Week Got Extended
Well, birthday week was good fun. We went out to eat a few times too, so that was nice. Rob and Sarah took Jenee out to dinner at Olive Garden, so needless to say Jenee definately had a great birthday. On her actual birthday, I made Jenee breakfast in bed and told her that she could do whatever she wanted and I would take care of everything else. The appartment desparately needed cleaning so I dilligently set to the task, while Jenee spread her self out and started quilting. I really enjoy quilting with her, and I resumed my role as the Sheriff of Circular Cutters (becasue someone doesn't have time to make straight lines).
It was definately a productive weekend cause in two days, Jenee finished one quilt that had been lingering on for a while, and started and all but completed another quilt. She has some pictures of the quilts so I will let her post them here when she gets a moment.
Now, why is birthday week extended? Well there are two good reasons. First of all, her bff David drove down last night to visit her, and second of all, we get to go to Disney world tomorrow. Yup, we're taking the day and going to Disney. Neither of us have been before and David's girlfriend Katie, works there and is going to bring us as guests! Sweet! So, I will make sure that there are lots of pictures for you to enjoy. We haven't had pictures for a while huh?
So what's next? Well, in two weeks we are heading back to TX for a visit but between then and now, I have two proposals to co-author and submit, and Jenee has some hours to make up at work. Actually, at the time of writing, I have just finished editing the proposal after 9 hours so I am beat. Time to go and have some grub...
It was definately a productive weekend cause in two days, Jenee finished one quilt that had been lingering on for a while, and started and all but completed another quilt. She has some pictures of the quilts so I will let her post them here when she gets a moment.
Now, why is birthday week extended? Well there are two good reasons. First of all, her bff David drove down last night to visit her, and second of all, we get to go to Disney world tomorrow. Yup, we're taking the day and going to Disney. Neither of us have been before and David's girlfriend Katie, works there and is going to bring us as guests! Sweet! So, I will make sure that there are lots of pictures for you to enjoy. We haven't had pictures for a while huh?
So what's next? Well, in two weeks we are heading back to TX for a visit but between then and now, I have two proposals to co-author and submit, and Jenee has some hours to make up at work. Actually, at the time of writing, I have just finished editing the proposal after 9 hours so I am beat. Time to go and have some grub...
Monday, March 9, 2009
Birthday Week Started Yesterday
It's T-6 Days till Jenee's Birthday (Sunday) and as I was reminded today, its really Birthday-Week. To start Birthday Week off with a bang, I took Jenee off for an early birthday present. Jenee has a particular brand of cosmetics she really likes, and because of sensitive skin, she is better off keeping to. Well, she had run out some time ago and has been procrastinating buying more becasue of the cost. So, armed with some early birthday money from a certain someone (you know who you are) we headed off to the Beauty Lorf, a little botique store that only sells cosmetic products. Jenee got a bunch of things she had been wanting and then had to stop. Until husband said that if she wanted the rest, he would step in and pay for the rest of her items so she could have an early birthday present. I have bought her Disney DVD's for the last two years so I had to break the cycle. So, moral of the story, the Birthday Girl is happy as can be.
But, I have to say, the family that run the business are very good sales people. I even got the sales pitch for some shaving product and left with some samples to try, a shaving foam and an aftershave if I remember correctly. I don't know whether its a good thing or not to be able to be interested in botique cosmetic products for men from a botique store... lol
As I mentioned before (I think) we were both sick last week so we have some catching up this week at work and home. We spent the weekend sleeping, quilting and watching Top Gear videos. Obviously we were both recuperating from our colds, and needed to rest but now we have vacuuming, laundry, car wash, proposals, reports, data entry and so on to catch up on. Looks like we'll be busy.
But, I have to say, the family that run the business are very good sales people. I even got the sales pitch for some shaving product and left with some samples to try, a shaving foam and an aftershave if I remember correctly. I don't know whether its a good thing or not to be able to be interested in botique cosmetic products for men from a botique store... lol
As I mentioned before (I think) we were both sick last week so we have some catching up this week at work and home. We spent the weekend sleeping, quilting and watching Top Gear videos. Obviously we were both recuperating from our colds, and needed to rest but now we have vacuuming, laundry, car wash, proposals, reports, data entry and so on to catch up on. Looks like we'll be busy.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Bring on the Spring
Well we are a few days into spring here in sunny Florida and the weather is just awesome. We are very blessed indeed. This week has been and interesting one for sure. Jenee and I seem to have a case each of this funky virus making its rounds. I went to the Dr. on Monday and he jokingly made the comment that it was "upper respiratory week".
We're both doing much better now. This morning I made my way to the lab to have some blood samples taken. I watched in horror as the nurse took out 1, 2, 3, 4 vials. I looked at her and asked how many she was going to need. It turned out 5 was the special number. I am not a fan of having my blood taken but I have to compliment her, I barely felt the needle and she was very quick. sadly there was no lolly-pop for me.
Jenee has been at home for the last couple of days with this virus and today she seems to have finally improved enough to go back to work. Personally I think she was just wanted to watch my Anime dvd's but she promises that she "would rather poke her eye out". Whatever, I know the truth.
Well, its getting late and I hope you are all doing well. We'll try to post a little more, sorry for the slackness...
Thursday, February 19, 2009
V-Day
Today was the dreaded V-Day. I'm not talking about anything to do with WWII, rather the dreaded Vet-Day. Jenee and I took the day off to run errands including the vet. It is interesting how much personality I noticed in the cats. Marble actually preferred to be crammed into her little carry bag so she could be closer to Jenee. Sable likes a solid carry case. Marble freaks out in the car, Sable took a nap, Marble doesn't mind the exam, Sable would rather die. So funny. Once we got home we had the usual swag of hissing from Sab's but now she's calmed down and has weaseled her way onto my lap. At least we didn't have to get shots! Not our favorite.
We also went to the DMV to do our renewal which turned out to be a bigger ordeal than we were expecting. Apparently we needed new insurance and had to get a document from Texas to register the car. Sigh. The awesome thing was to see God's soverignty carry us through. We got a better deal on insurance, and renters insurance, and the Document is on its way so there shouldn't be any problems! Praise Him!
We also went to the DMV to do our renewal which turned out to be a bigger ordeal than we were expecting. Apparently we needed new insurance and had to get a document from Texas to register the car. Sigh. The awesome thing was to see God's soverignty carry us through. We got a better deal on insurance, and renters insurance, and the Document is on its way so there shouldn't be any problems! Praise Him!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Firing Up The Cricut
Well here is something fun. Here is Jenee firing up her new scrapbooking tool / toy :-)
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Our First Medieval Faire
Well, this weekend, Jenee and I attended our first ever medieval fair, the Hoggtowne Medieval Fair in Gainesville. It was a fun outing with Rob, Sarah and Meredith. Now, don't get me wrong, I appreciate all the effort some fans go to, but I don't remember pirates and samurai sword wielding, trench coat wearing ninjas in the dark ages, correct me (in the comments) if I am wrong. Anyway, fun day, you should go sometime. I even made a friend with a nice lady with a Nikon D3 (shibby) and she let me play with it for a while. We're best friends now...well, maybe not best friends, but she was very kind to let me play with her expensive camera. Slideshow below!
Having fun :-)
Having fun :-)
Friday, January 30, 2009
Catching Up On My Missed Childhood
When I was a kid, I had a neighbor who I was pretty good friends with. He was fortunate and had several incarnations of Nintendo gaming systems. I spent many hours watching him play and was occasionally allowed to play, only to quickly lose my turn because of my inexperience. Well, thanks to the smart people of Nintendo, I have downloaded some of those old games and tried my hand at them.Apparently I still suck at playing them. I have been playing Super Mario Bros. 3 and I can not get past world 3. Even better is the level of aggravation due to continually failing to beat the final boss. Oh well, eventually I will get there, but here is the moral of the story. Share the game with someone else kids, it's the right thing to do!
Stupid Mario Bros...
Apparently I have a way to go. This guy can finish the game in 11 minutes.
Yay for Wireless Printing!
Well its only taken me 3 weeks, but I have finally got our HP C6180 all-in-one printer running on our home network. This cool little all in one prints normal and photos, faxes, scans, photocopies, makes coffee and projects HD images on our ceiling. Ok, I made the last two up. The problem I had was that the printer was recognized on the network, but none of the facilities work with Mac OSX 10.5.6. So, a quick driver update and voala! She works like a tiger. Of course I found this little triumph all the more satisfying than Jenee, who entertained my excitment with a small cheer for me.
Now I can archive my magazines to pdf files at home and save shelf space!
I know, I'm a big nerd, but at least I am efficient and minimalistic... lol
Now I can archive my magazines to pdf files at home and save shelf space!
I know, I'm a big nerd, but at least I am efficient and minimalistic... lol
I'm in the Wrong Business
I think I have mentioned this topic here before, but here is my latest count on selling Nikon Camera's and Apple Computers:
Nikon Cameras: Total 9
D40 - Greg
D40 - Paul
D40 - Brandon
D40x - Karen
D60 - Georgios
D80 - Paul
D200 - Eugene
D50 - Donna
D60 - Random guy in camera shop
Apple Computers: Total 4
MacBook Pro - Jenee
MacBook Pro - Jenny
MacBook - Linda
MacBook - Corinna [Tentative]
Where's my commission Nikon and Apple?
Nikon Cameras: Total 9
D40 - Greg
D40 - Paul
D40 - Brandon
D40x - Karen
D60 - Georgios
D80 - Paul
D200 - Eugene
D50 - Donna
D60 - Random guy in camera shop
Apple Computers: Total 4
MacBook Pro - Jenee
MacBook Pro - Jenny
MacBook - Linda
MacBook - Corinna [Tentative]
Where's my commission Nikon and Apple?
Our First Visit to the Retired Horse Farm
Jenee and I took Rob and his daughter Meridith to visit the local retired horse farm. Its a really nice facility with probably more than 50 horses. Admission was 2 carrots per person. We bought a huge bag, and that was still not enough, so next time we go, I think we'll bring more. The horses themselves are rescued from all over the place, and they can be old race horses, draft, farm horses etc. Most are fairly sweet in temperament, but that didn't stop some jostling for position to get another carrot. Meredith had a great time too, she just walked and walked and walked and occasionally hazarded feeding a carrot from the safety of her dad's arms. Check out the slide show below.
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