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...

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

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!).