Proud Uncle and Aunty :-)

We have two new nephews. Oliver (Green hat) and Thomas (Blue). Can't wait for Christmas!!! Congratulations Heather and Jon.

Proud Nanna and Grandpa

Ollie

Tommy

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!

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

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

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...

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!

You Know Your Husband is a Nerd When:

1. He's excited that he learned a new formula in Excel
2. He used his spare time to make a spread sheet just to use said new formula [f.y.i. "=sumproduct()"]
3. 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")
4. He has created a folder on his computer for DIY projects and written word documents detailing how to do them
5. His idea of fun is to learn how to solder a circuit board
   
6. He wants to make a head phone amplifier for headphones that he doesn't have
7. He has itinerized all of you possessions in Delicious Library for insurance purposes (and enjoyed doing it)
8. 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)
9. He has organized and renamed all of his photos into more then 260 folders covering the last 7 years
10. He's watched Heroes Season 1&2 twice in less than a year
11. 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
12. 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
13. More to come...
    

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.

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.

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...